Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
19. Uluslararası Katılımlı Türk Spor Hekimliği Kongresi, İzmir, Türkiye, 3 - 05 Kasım 2023, ss.115
Objective : Muscle cramps cause persistent, involuntary, painful and localized contraction of an entire
muscle group or a single muscle. Most cramps are idiopathic, however, contributing factors have been
identified including electrolyte imbalances, neurological and metabolic causes, and drug use. Although
magnesium supplements are frequently used to prevent muscle cramps, the effect of magnesium on
cramps remains unclear today. While some studies in the literature report that magnesium is more
effective than placebo in reducing the number of cramps, other studies have shown no significant effect.
In this meta-analysis study, it was aimed to evaluate the effect of magnesium use on the number of
muscle cramps in healthy adults.
Methods : Literature searches were conducted from the earliest available date to September 2023 using
the online databases PubMed, Web of Science and Scholar. The following keywords used in combination
to find the relevant articles: ‘‘magnesium’’, ‘‘cramp’’, ‘‘cramps’’, ‘‘muscle cramps’’, ‘‘skeletel muscle
cramps’’, ‘‘idiopatic muscle cramps’’, ‘‘nocturnal leg cramp’’, and ‘‘idiopatic nocturnal muscle cramp’’.
Only randomized controlled trials were included in the meta-analysis. Studies on chronic patients were
not included in the meta-analysis. Quality analysis of the studies included in the analysis was performed
using the Cochrane risk of bias tool (RoB 2). As a result, 4 randomized controlled studies that met the
search criteria were included in the meta-analysis. Heterogeneity between studies was assessed using
the Cochran Q test and the I2 statistic. A random effects model was used, assuming that the included
articles were evaluated in different populations. "Cohen's d" coefficient was used to compare means
and calculate the overall effect size. The change in the number of cramps per week was used as the
outcome.
Results : In this study, when four weeks of magnesium use was compared with placebo, no significant
difference was detected in the number of cramps per week (Standardized mean difference -0.091 (-
0.357 - 0.176), p = 0.505, I2: 38.6%).
Conclusion: According to the results of this meta-analysis study, it can be said that daily use of 168-900
mg magnesium for 4 weeks is not effective in reducing the number of weekly cramps. Magnesium use
may be required for more than 4 weeks to reduce the number of cramps per week in adults. Longerterm
and more studies are needed on this subject.