Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffIn most cases, night leg cramps have no identifiable cause. However, night leg cramps may sometimes be associated with:
- Addison's disease
- Alcoholism
- Choosing blood pressure medications
- Cirrhosis
- Dehydration
- Type 2 diabetes
- Diarrhea
- Diuretics
- Electrolyte imbalance
- Flatfeet
- Gastric bypass surgery
- Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
- Kidney failure, chronic
- Muscle fatigue
- Oral contraceptives
- Parkinson's disease
- Second trimester pregnancy: What to expect
- Peripheral artery disease (PAD)
Causes shown here are commonly associated with this symptom. Work with your doctor or other health care professional for an accurate diagnosis.
References
- Kanaan N, et al. Nocturnal leg cramps: Clinically mysterious and painful - but manageable. Geriatrics. 2001;56:34.
- Walters AS. Clinical identification of the simple sleep-related movement disorders. Chest. 2007;131:1260.
- Sheon RP. Nocturnal leg cramps, night starts and nocturnal myoclonus. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Dec. 8, 2008.
- Dehydration and fluid maintenance. Columbia, Md.: American Medical Directors Association. http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?ss=15&doc_id=3305&nbr=2531. Accessed Dec. 9, 2008.
