If you find yourself walking the floor at night to get rid of leg cramps that wake you from a sound sleep, the idea of taking a vitamin to reduce your nocturnal dances sounds wonderful. While several vitamins have been suggested as possible treatment for leg cramps, none has proven universally successful. Ask your medical provider before substantially increasing your vitamin intake on one vitamin, because some vitamins, like the B-complex vitamins, are better taken as a group.
Causes
There are many potential causes of leg cramps; the treatment may depend on the exact cause. People who take diuretics that increase potassium loss may have leg cramps due to low levels of potassium, a mineral. Switching to a potassium-sparing diuretic or taking potassium supplements may be helpful, but do not take extra potassium without your medical practitioner's approval. Pregnancy, a sedentary lifestyle or, conversely, being on your feet too much can all increase leg cramps. Diseases that interfere with circulation, such as diabetes, can also increase leg cramps.
B-Complex Vitamins
A study reported in the December 1998 "Journal of Clinical Pharmacology" compared the effectiveness of a combination of B-complex vitamins including B-1, riboflavin, B-6 and B-12 with placebo in treating leg cramps. Subjects were 28 elderly patients with hypertension. After three months, 86 percent of the group treated with the B-complex vitamin reported significant decrease in symptoms compared to the group taking the placebo, which reported no effects.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E has been shown to be beneficial in some clinical studies but not in others. Researchers from Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine reported in the July-September 1992 issue of the "American Society of Artificial Internal Organs" on the effects of vitamin E compared to quinine in dialysis patients with leg cramps. One group of 16 received quinine while the other took 400 International Units of vitamin E. The quinine group originally had a mean of 10.9 cramps per month compared to 10.4 for the vitamin E group. At the end of two months, the quinine groups reported a mean of 3.6 compared to 3.3 for the vitamin E group, showing that both treatments had similar efficacy. However, according to a study reported in the September 1992 issue of "Archives of Internal Medicine," the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Vermont gave 800 IU of vitamin E to one group of veterans and quinine to the other group found no change in the group that took vitamin E.
Side Effects
B-complex vitamins generally have no significant side effects, but very large doses could raise blood glucose levels, cause gout or heart or liver problems. Vitamin E can cause excessive bleeding in people taking anticoagulant medications. Vitamin E could also increase the risk of stroke, the Office of Dietary Supplements warns. Do not take vitamin E supplements without talking to your medical practitioner first. Do not take large doses of B-complex vitamins without your doctor's approval.
References
- "Journal of Clinical Pharmacology;" Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Vitamin B Complex in the Treatment of Nocturnal Leg Cramps in elderly patients with Hypertension; P. Chan, et al.; 1998
- "American Society for Artificial Internal Organs;" Dialysis Leg Cramps. Efficacy of Quinine versus Vitamin E.; A. Roca, et al.; July-September 1992
- "Archives of Internal Medicine;" Treatment of Nocturnal Leg Cramps. A Crossover Trial of Quinine vs Vitamin E; P. Connolly, et al.; September 1992
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin E
- University of Missouri Outreach and Extension; Put a Stop to Leg Cramps; October 2000
- American Cancer Society; Vitamin B-Complex; May 2010
