Editing Cramp (section)

{{Short description|Pathological, often painful, involuntary muscle contraction}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|seizure|spasm}}
{{Infobox medical condition
| name            = Cramp
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| symptoms        = sudden muscle pain and a paralysis-like immobility
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| treatment       = quinine, stretching, massage, and drinking liquids
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A '''cramp''' is a sudden, involuntary, painful [[skeletal muscle|skeletal]] [[muscle contraction]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Minetto |first1=Marco Alessandro |last2=Holobar |first2=Aleš |last3=Botter |first3=Alberto |last4=Farina |first4=Dario |date=Jan 2013 |title=Origin and development of muscle cramps |url=https://journals.lww.com/acsm-essr/fulltext/2013/01000/origin_and_development_of_muscle_cramps.3.aspx |journal=Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=3–10 |doi=10.1097/JES.0b013e3182724817 |issn=1538-3008 |pmid=23038243|s2cid=15263712 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Marotta |first1=P. J. |last2=Graziadei |first2=I. W. |last3=Ghent |first3=C. N. |date=Nov 2000 |title=Muscle cramps: a 'complication' of cirrhosis |journal=Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology |volume=14 Suppl D |pages=21D–25D |doi=10.1155/2000/214916 |issn=0835-7900 |pmid=11110608 |doi-access=free}}</ref> or overshortening associated with electrical activity.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Benzon |first1=Honorio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9UuAWD2FTFsC&pg=PA141 |title=Essentials of Pain Medicine E-book |last2=Raja |first2=Srinivasa N. |last3=Fishman |first3=Scott E. |last4=Liu |first4=Spencer S. |last5=Cohen |first5=Steven P. |date=2011-06-30 |publisher=Elsevier Health Sciences |isbn=978-1-4377-3593-2 |language=en}}</ref> While generally temporary and non-damaging, they can cause significant [[pain]] and a [[paralysis]]-like immobility of the affected muscle. A cramp usually goes away on its own over several seconds or (sometimes) minutes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Muscle Cramps |url=https://medlineplus.gov/musclecramps.html |access-date=2022-09-15 |website=medlineplus.gov}}</ref> Cramps are common and tend to occur at rest, usually at night (nocturnal leg cramps).<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nocturnal leg cramps |url=https://www.uptodate.com/contents/nocturnal-leg-cramps |access-date=2022-09-21 |website=UpToDate}}</ref> They are also often associated with [[pregnancy]], [[exercise-associated muscle cramps|physical exercise]] or overexertion, and age (common in older adults); in such cases, cramps are called [[idiopathic]] because there is no underlying pathology. In addition to those benign conditions cramps are also associated with many [[pathological]] conditions.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Garrison|first1=Scott R.|last2=Korownyk|first2=Christina S.|last3=Kolber|first3=Michael R.|last4=Allan|first4=G. Michael|last5=Musini|first5=Vijaya M.|last6=Sekhon|first6=Ravneet K.|last7=Dugré|first7=Nicolas|date=September 2020|title=Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|volume=2020|issue=9|pages=CD009402|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD009402.pub3|issn=1469-493X|pmid=32956536|pmc=8094171}}</ref>

Cramp definition is narrower than the definition of muscle [[spasm]]: spasms include any involuntary abnormal muscle contractions, while cramps are sustained and painful.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Muscle Cramps (Charley Horse) and Muscle Spasm Remedies |url=https://www.emedicinehealth.com/slideshow_pictures_muscle_cramps_and_muscle_spasms/article_em.htm |access-date=2022-09-25 |website=eMedicineHealth |language=en}}</ref> True cramps can be distinguished from other cramp-like conditions. Cramps are different from [[muscle contracture]], which is also painful and involuntary, but which is electrically silent. The main distinguishing features of cramps from [[dystonia]] are suddenness with acute onset of pain, involvement of only one muscle, and spontaneous resolution of cramps or their resolution after stretching the affected muscle.<ref name=":3" /> [[Restless legs syndrome|Restless leg syndrome]] is not considered the same as muscle cramps and should not be confused with rest cramps.<ref name=":1" />