Research reveals surprising ways to prevent painful nighttime leg cramps

Eating more meat can help prevent painful nighttime leg cramps, a study claims.

About half of all adults will experience such cramps during their lifetime, known as a Charley horse.

For a fifth of this group, the painful cramps – which occur when the tendons in the leg suddenly tighten, causing the leg to spastic – can cause enough stress and insomnia to seek medical attention.

Although there are a number of effective treatments available on the NHS, these come with a long list of unpleasant side effects.

Now scientists think the key lies in a vitamin found in animal products such as chicken, beef liver, eggs and cheese, as well as fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kefir.

Eating more could help prevent nighttime cramps, which affect about half of all adults, scientists believe (file photo)

Vitamin K2 is believed to help cramps by lowering calcium levels in the muscles, allowing them to relax. Previous studies by the same researchers showed that the vitamin reduced cramps in dialysis patients.

The new study, conducted in China, tracked the leg cramps of 199 participants aged 65 and over over a period of eight weeks – with half given a vitamin K2 supplement pill and the other half a placebo.

By the end of the study, those given K2 saw their number of weekly leg cramps halved – while there was no reduction in those given the placebo.

According to the study, published last month in the medical journal JAMA, those who took K2 also saw the pain of their cramps decrease, as well as the duration of them – from an average of 54 seconds to 20 seconds.

One in five people seek medical attention due to anxiety and insomnia due to painful cramps (file photo)

Lead researcher Dr Jing Tan, a hematologist at the Third People’s Hospital in Chengdu, said: ‘To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the use of vitamin K2 specifically for the treatment of nocturnal leg cramps.’

Vitamin K2 has previously been shown to improve bone health and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

Because of its ability to regulate calcium levels – the most important mineral found in bones and teeth – scientists believe supplements can also help post-menopausal women by increasing their bone strength.

It has even been linked to a reduction in heart disease, with studies suggesting it may help prevent calcium from building up around the arteries of the heart.