In the photo: The Laws Team - Photo: Dovorat Klalit
About a third of people aged 60 and over suffer from the phenomenon of leg muscle contraction during sleep, which causes severe pain and great suffering, although this is not a life-threatening condition, but it is a serious damage to the quality of sleep and quality of life, explains Dr. Nega Rogin Maor, a specialist in general family medicine in the Haifa and Western Galilee district and the researcher The main one in magnesium research.
According to Dr. Rogin Maor: "Until now, doctors do not have a proven treatment that can help those who suffer from this phenomenon, since the source of the problem is not clear and there are many theories that have not been proven. One of the prevalent treatments today is using a magnesium supplement, but studies conducted in the past have shown different results regarding its effectiveness. Magnesium is very important in biochemical processes in body cells. It is mostly found in the bones and cells and only 1% is found in the blood, so a blood test is not effective for checking its level in the body. It is mainly found in green leafy vegetables, nuts, grains, soy, chocolate and seafood. In Western countries, where there is a lot of use of processed food, the concentration of magnesium in food is on a downward trend."
The team of Klalit's research unit in Haifa, which is directed by Dr. Uzi Milman, researched the effect of the magnesium oxide supplement and its effectiveness in relieving leg muscle cramps at night. A study recently published in the prestigious journal JAMA INTERNAL MEDICINE. For which 166 patients who suffered from this disorder were recruited. One of them reported a number of contractions that occurred over a two-week period. For the study itself, 94 patients were finally selected who suffered an average of 7-9 contractions per week. They were randomly divided into a group that received magnesium and those that received a placebo in capsules that looked like the magnesium capsules. Both the patients and the researchers did not know what the treatment was. It is possible. The patients carefully recorded the contractions for 4 weeks. It turned out that there was indeed a certain decrease in the rate of contractions, but it occurred both among the magnesium users and among those who received a placebo, without statistical significance. The same goes for the severity of the contractions, Mishkan and more.
The conclusion was that oral magnesium preparation did not show a therapeutic benefit for those suffering from muscle cramps. It is possible, the researchers point out, that in a longer-term study in which the patients will take magnesium for an extended period of time, there will be different results.
The partners in the study were Klalit experts in Haifa: Dr. Moti Elfin, Dr. Yelena Shterman, Dr. Hassan Hiraldin, Dr. Moran Friedman and Prof. Khaled Karkabi. It was conducted without any grant or external funding, so there was no indirectly influencing factor, except for the findings of the research itself. The researchers' conclusion is that it is necessary to continue looking for therapeutic solutions for this disturbing and common phenomenon of muscle contractions at night.
