Celine Dion was paralyzed by muscle cramps: what is muscle cramps?

On October 19, Celine Dion posted a message on Instagram that due to health issues, concerts originally scheduled for the next few months have been postponed

"This disappointed the fans who planned to come to Las Vegas, and let them down makes me feel bad

His team issued a press release revealing that the Quebec star “suffered severe and long-lasting muscle cramps, which prevented her from performing on stage

The performance was originally scheduled to be held from January 19 to February 5, 2022, but it was also cancelled

A relative revealed that the latest news is that she can no longer stand up, move or walk

What is muscle cramps?

Muscle cramps (commonly known as cramps) are spontaneous muscle tension contractions

The pain is unbearable during the attack and can last from a few seconds to tens of seconds

Frequent leg cramps are mainly caused by calcium deficiency, cold, and local neurovascular compression

Normally, you can properly supplement calcium, get more sun, sit and sleep to avoid compression of nerves and blood vessels, you can also do local muscle compresses, massage, and strengthen local blood circulation

If it doesn't get better, go to the hospital for examination and treatment

Everyone has cramps, that is, muscle cramps

Pietro Bassi, a neurologist at the Muscle Spasm Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Dracodra Tribute Health Clinic, provided us with relevant answers

Muscle cramps are sudden, short-lived, involuntary, painful contractions of muscles or muscle groups

Leg cramps at night

The most common form of leg cramps is benign idiopathic leg cramps, which usually occur at night

• Twitching of the calf

• Curved soles or toes

Muscle cramps caused by exercise

Some muscle cramps are related to physical exercise and will appear during or after exercise

Causes of muscle cramps

There are many risk factors that increase the risk of cramps or aggravate the severity of cramps, such as:

• Calf muscle tension due to lack of stretching or exercise, and chronic edema of the calf

• Dehydration

• The content of potassium or magnesium is too low, the electrolyte status changes

• Musculoskeletal abnormalities, such as calf muscle contraction caused by sitting for a long time, flat feet or structural diseases such as knee hyperextension

• Nervous system disease (peripheral neuropathy, plexopathy, radiculopathy, motor neuron disease, myopathy) or metabolic disease (alcoholism, hypothyroidism)

• Taking certain drugs or substances

1. Angiotensin II receptor inhibitor, cisplatin, clofibrate, diuretic, donepezil

2. Drugs with β-adrenergic agonist effects, including bronchodilators and certain β-blockers

3. Lovastatin, oral contraceptives, pyrazinamide, raloxifene

4. Stimulants such as amphetamines, caffeine, cocaine, ephedrine, nicotine, pseudoephedrine, teriparatide, tocapone, vincristine

• After stopping certain drugs or substances: alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepines, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, or certain toxins

• pregnant 

A disease that may be mistaken for cramps

The purpose of clinical evaluation of muscle spasms is to find a treatment
.
Usually the patient already knows the cause of the cramps, and the symptoms are already severe
.
Through clinical evaluation, the following other diseases that may be mistaken for spasticity can also be ruled out:

• Intermittent claudication, the patient will have intermittent menstrual pain when walking, causing the patient to be unable to continue walking

• Dystonia is a twitching and spasm of involuntary muscles, resulting in abnormal posture or abnormal movement

• Restless legs syndrome, patients will feel the need to move their legs at any time 

How to diagnose cramps

In order to understand the cause of the disease more clearly, patients need to pay attention to and record all relevant information when cramps occur:

• Duration of cramps

• Frequency of occurrence

• The place or circumstances where the incident occurred

• Where the pain occurs and any related symptoms

In particular, you need to pay attention to all possible causes of cramps, such as:

• Muscle stiffness, weakness, pain, loss of consciousness, these may be related to nervous system or muscle diseases

• Vomiting, diarrhea, excessive exercise and excessive sweating, recent dialysis, dehydration, electrolyte or fluid imbalance diuretics

• Leg cramps caused by pregnancy or irregular menstruation

• Cannot tolerate cold, accompanied by weight gain and skin changes, which may be caused by hypothyroidism

• Weakness caused by neurological diseases

• Peripheral neuropathy or radiculopathy can cause pain or loss of sensation

At the same time, clinical evaluation also needs to consider the patient's medication history, including whether there is excessive drinking
.
After collecting and observing all symptoms, the patient needs to undergo related examinations, including:

• Skin examination checks for changes in alcoholism, edema, eyebrow loss (related to hypothyroidism), skin water retention and filling degree
  .
  

• Neurological examination to assess the condition of tendon reflexes

• Measure the blood pressure of the limbs, weak pulse or low ankle-brachial blood pressure index, there may be limb ischemia problems

• If an abnormality is found during the inspection, the expert will decide whether to conduct further evaluation and testing

What to do if cramps

If you have cramps, stretching your muscles can help your muscles return to their normal state
.
For example, if you want to solve calf cramps, pull your feet and toes up with your hands, which can be relieved to a certain extent
.
Once stretching fails to solve the problem, or the problem continues to occur, you need to consult an expert immediately to find the most suitable solution
.
 

Nutrients to prevent muscle cramps:

• Calcium, magnesium and potassium

• Vitamin B or Vitamin E

For some serious patients, experts will consider the pros and cons and prescribe some drugs (antihistamines, calcium antagonists, gabapentin, benzodiazepine, quinine) according to the cause of cramps
.
Different mechanisms of action can be used to treat spasms caused by different causes
.
 

How to prevent cramps

Experts concluded that there are some measures that can help prevent muscle cramps, such as:

• Avoid exercising immediately after eating

• Do some soothing muscle stretching exercises before exercising or going to bed

Stretching before running is very useful
.
Before running, you can bend the knee of one foot forward, and at the same time extend the knee of the other leg backward, and the body is in a lunge position
.

Keep your hands close to your hips, and your heels must be in contact with the ground
.
The legs with the knees bent slowly lean forward until the muscles behind the legs are stretched
.

The greater the distance between the feet, the better the stretching effect
.
Repeat 5 times each time for 30 seconds, and then you can switch sides to stretch
.

• Need to replenish a lot of water after exercise, especially potassium-containing liquid

• Control the intake of caffeine, nicotine, ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and other irritating substances

• No smoking

• Eat more foods rich in magnesium, potassium and calcium (bananas, leafy green vegetables such as broccoli, arugula, spinach and cabbage, eggs, yogurt, beans and wheat germ)