Some patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS) complain of leg or foot cramps. The symptom may come very severe and wake people up at night. So, what is the effective treatment to alleviate the leg and foot cramps? Before mentioning the treatment, let’s learn about causes of the symptom first.
Why patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis(AS) experience leg or foot cramps?
Actually, leg or foot cramp are associated with various causes. A healthy person may also experience cramps due to some non-pathogenic reasons such as cold, excessive sweating, lack of calcium, etc.
In patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis, muscle cramps may come as an early symptom of the disease. In the early stage, Ankylosing Spondylitis may involve the scsacroiliac joint or several segments of the spine, which can cause joint pains and muscle cramps around the involved joints. With the illness condition progressing, joint pain is alleviated, but the involved spine and joints are deformed. In the advanced stage, the whole spine and lower limbs become stiff and bend forward.
How to treat leg or foot cramps in Ankylosing Spondylitis?
Firstly, the patient should seek for clear diagnosis to confirm the inducing cause of the symptom. If the symptom is caused by common reasons such as lack of calcium, stimulation by cold, etc, the doctors may prescribe certain supplements, dietary suggestions or proper exercises to help treat the symptom.
If the leg or foot cramps is the resulting symptom of Ankylosing Spondylitis, the effective treatment should be based on properly treating the disease. Certain painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs may be prescribed for the patient. Since Ankylosing Spondylitis is a chronic progressing disease and may cause joint deformity in advanced stage, early, positive and effective treatment is very crucial. If you find your condition poorly controlled or flares occur, you will need expert guidance to timely bring the disease under control. Any help needed, you may consult our experts online directly for free.
Better Treatment Options for Ankylosing Spondylitis
