Relieve Muscle Cramp in CKD on Dialysis

Muscle cramp commonly occurs in CKD patients on dialysis. It mainly involves the legs and feet, but can also affect arms and hands.How to relieve muscle cramp?

Causes of muscle cramp in CKD on dialysis

Muscle cramp can be very painful and may make you even hardly move. It commonly occurs during dialysis and may lead to the dialysis session being terminated earlier than planned. If this condition occurs frequently,it will certainly affect the dialysis quality significantly.

There is a host of factors which can contribute muscle cramp in CKD patients on dialysis. It mainly due to the following causes:

*A decrease in body fluid volume: it occurs after extra fluid is removed from body by dialysis.

* Abnormally low blood pressure: low blood pressure can occur if too much fluid is filtered out of body by dialysis.Or if the patients take blood pressure medications before dialysis,it may also lower lower blood pressure. T

*Changes in electrolyte balance like low levels of sodium, low magnesium in blood can contribute to muscle cramp in CKD patients on dialysis.

How to control these conditions and prevent muscle cramp in CKD? Email to kidneycares@hotmail.com  for more suggestions.

How to relieve muscle in CKD on dialysis?

1. Volume contraction and hyponatremia are the most common factors of muscle cramp during dialysis.To avoid these problems, you should monitor your dry weight and minimize weight gains between dialysis treatments. Also, increasing the frequency of hemodialysis or switching to peritoneal dialysis are effective in reducing the frequency of cramping.

2. Massage of the affected muscle and the application of moist heat can relieve muscle cramp and make the patients feel more comfortable.

3. Some exercises can prevent muscle cramp in CKD patients on dialysis. Doing stretching exercise before dialysis, performing mild exercise such as riding a stationary bicycle during prior going to bed.

4. In serious case, some medications may be recommended like Quinine.But you should never take any medications before consulting with a doctor.