ManiIa M N
Aversi Clinic, Tbilisi, Georgia.
Georgian Med News. 2009 Jan(166):51-4.
A leg cramp is a pain that comes from a leg muscle. It is due to a muscle spasm which usually occurs in a calf muscle, below and behind a knee. Leg cramps (often called night cramps) usually occur most commonly at night when in bed. Night leg cramps are involuntary painful contractions of skeletal muscles arose in the calves and soles of the feet. Although in most cases they aren't harmful and resolve easily in some instances they have a long duration and can result in intense pain, disturb normal sleep and make a person feel anxious. Pathophysiology of leg cramps is poorly understood. The aim of our study was to determine the role of metabolic syndrome in relation to night leg cramps. The study included 86 subjects aged 34 to 88 years. Metabolic syndrome group consisted of 40 subjects (10 men (25%) and 30 women (75%)); the control group consisted of 46 persons (9 men (19.5%) and 37 women (80.5%)). According to frequency and intensity of manifestation leg cramps were subdivided into less frequent and frequent leg cramps. Blood samples were analysed for lipids, fasting glucose, red blood cells and electrolytes. Persons were screened for leg vein insufficiency as well. The investigation showed that 77.5% (31/40) of patients with metabolic syndrome had leg cramps, from which 60% (24/40) had frequent leg cramps. In control group 73.9% (34/46) had leg cramps, from which 50% (23/46) had frequent leg cramps. Among known predisposing factors leg cramps most often were associated with deep vein insufficiency and superficial vein varicose. High frequency of night leg cramps in our study is due to female predominance (75% versus 25% women and men, respectively) and age distribution in our study population (from 34 to 88 years old). The investigation showed that people often experience nocturnal leg cramps. Leg cramp is slightly increasing among the patients with metabolic syndrome. Frequent leg cramps were observed in 60% of cases in metabolic syndrome group versus 50% of cases in controls.
腿部抽筋是一种源自腿部肌肉的疼痛。它是由肌肉痉挛引起的，通常发生在小腿肌肉，即膝盖下方和后方。腿部抽筋（通常称为夜间抽筋）通常最常发生在夜间卧床时。夜间腿部抽筋是小腿和脚底骨骼肌的非自愿性疼痛收缩。虽然在大多数情况下它们无害且在某些情况下很容易缓解，但在某些情况下它们持续时间长，会导致剧烈疼痛，干扰正常睡眠并使人感到焦虑。腿部抽筋的病理生理学尚不清楚。我们研究的目的是确定代谢综合征与夜间腿部抽筋的关系。该研究包括86名年龄在34至88岁之间的受试者。代谢综合征组由40名受试者组成（10名男性（25%）和30名女性（75%））；对照组由46人组成（9名男性（19.5%）和37名女性（80.5%））。根据腿部抽筋表现的频率和强度，将其分为较少频繁和频繁腿部抽筋。对血液样本进行脂质、空腹血糖、红细胞和电解质分析。还对受试者进行了腿部静脉功能不全筛查。调查显示，77.5%（31/40）的代谢综合征患者有腿部抽筋，其中60%（24/40）有频繁腿部抽筋。对照组中73.9%（34/46）有腿部抽筋，其中50%（23/46）有频繁腿部抽筋。在已知的诱发因素中，腿部抽筋最常与深静脉功能不全和浅静脉曲张有关。我们研究中夜间腿部抽筋的高频率是由于女性占主导地位（分别为75%对25%的女性和男性）以及我们研究人群的年龄分布（34至88岁）。调查显示人们经常经历夜间腿部抽筋。代谢综合征患者中腿部抽筋略有增加。代谢综合征组60%的病例出现频繁腿部抽筋，而对照组为50%。
