Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps.

Study answer

What this study found

Magnesium is unlikely to provide clinically meaningful prophylaxis for skeletal muscle cramps in older adults, although pregnancy-associated cramps remain uncertain because the evidence is conflicting. In idiopathic rest cramps, pooled cramp frequency change at 4 weeks was not significant (MD -9.59%, 95% CI -23.14 to 3.97; 177 participants; 3 studies), and pooled cramp intensity was also essentially null (MD -0.02; 269 participants; 4 studies). At 12 weeks, the available older-adult data still did not show a clear benefit for cramp frequency (MD -12.09%, 95% CI -40.22 to 16.04; 43…

Study & population

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials in people with skeletal muscle cramps.

Intervention

Magnesium supplementation was evaluated in multiple formulations and routes, most commonly oral magnesium lactate, magnesium oxide, magnesium aspartate, magnesium bisglycinate, or magnesium chewable tablets, with doses ranging from 122 mg to 520 mg elemental magnesium per day in most trials.

Key limitation

The evidence base was small, heterogeneous, and often poorly reported, with differing magnesium salts, doses, routes, and outcome measures across trials.

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Original abstract