Comparative Study of Calcium efficacy and placebo on leg muscle cramps during pregnancy in patients referred to clinics supervised by Bushehr University of Medical Sciences

Muscle cramps are common complains during pregnancy muscle cramps occur mostly during nights causing sleep disorder. The causes of muscle cramps are unknown. One probable cause could be the imbalance between intake and excretion of serum electrolyte such as calcium. The method used for the present study was double blind clinical trial. The study was conducted on 60 pregnant women suffering from leg muscle cramps who sought medical treatment in three selected clinics in Bushehr from April 2006 to November 2007. All subjects being third trimester of pregnancy, single pregnant, only used iron and multivitamins. Irregular use of medication, PLP (Preterm Labor Pain), disability completion forms excluded of study. Simple and accessible sampling was used in this study. Selection of study group and placebo were random. Visual analog forms were used to record the number and intensity of muscle cramps. These forms had provisions for 7 days of pretreatment and 28 days of treatments. At the end of the first week, the subjects were prescribed to take medications every night for four weeks. The subjects were asked to record the intensity of their muscle cramps on the visual analog forms during these four weeks. The number and intensity of muscle cramps were considered in this study. The results of the study showed no significant change in intensity in the two groups. However, there was a significant reduction in the number of cramps in the study group after taking calcium (p=< 0.02<0.05). Taking calcium resulted in a significant reduction in the number of cramps in this study compared to placebo group. Therefore, prescribing calcium is effective in reducing the number of cramps, when the numbers of occurrences are excessive. In cases of highly intensive and painful cramps, however, taking calcium is as effective as placebo.