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Does anyone experience frequent bilateral foot cramping? Sometimes my feet just feel tight and other times my foot will go into an actual 5-10 second cramp in different parts of the bottom of my foot. I know leg cramps are common, which I also get, but the foot cramps worry me!

Hi,
They're common.

The problem comes from having really tight calves. The foot needs consistent attention once it becomes a regular problem. The tight calves pull all the tendons right through the foot.

Get a spiky ball or a tennis ball under both feet and roll on them. I guarantee it will hurt but it will help. You also need to do a lot of calf stretches. The type they do in Pilates are perfect.

If you are at this stage, then seriously think about doing Pilates, or similar, as an ongoing habit. If your calves are tight then hamstrings probably are as well and that feeds all the way through your body.

Sometimes an anti spasticity medication is required but magnesium can help as well. Take a therapeutic dose rather than the minimal dose. A good brand will suggest both.

Regards,

cruth90 wrote:Does anyone experience frequent bilateral foot cramping? Sometimes my feet just feel tight and other times my foot will go into an actual 5-10 second cramp in different parts of the bottom of my foot. I know leg cramps are common, which I also get, but the foot cramps worry me!

Hi cruth90 and welcome. Have you changed shoes recently? I rarely get foot/leg cramps, but I used to get them in my feet when I wore certain shoes to work, especially on days I walked in them a lot.

I'm sure there are many reasons for general muscle cramps, and you'll get plenty of hints for addressing those, but my first suggestion is to change shoes and see what happens. It's not always MS that causes our problems. (And it's not always vitamin/mineral deficiencies either... )

My worry is that they are pretty frequent during the day. Is that normal? I have mild cramps or pulling in my calves most days, but I always have the foot cramps. I wear flats most days, so I don't think my shoes are causing it. I am starting to worry that I have something else neurological on top of the MS.....

A 'long shot' approach, try drinking tonic water which contains quinine, which is supposed to help with cramps, no idea if this would work for you. Some people claim it helps.

Hi again,

If you can feel the tightness in the calves then you definitely need to stretch them. Are your toes curling as well? That can be very painful when you start to land on the tips of them.
The point about shoes is very valid. Have a look at where the wearing on the soles is. If it is more on the side than the flat of the sole then gait is affected.

You stand on your feet but your hips control a lot of the movement. If you shift them out of alignment to make standing and walking more comfortable then you are transferring the workload to your hamstrings or your back. In that sense, everything is connected. Unfortunately, it wont fix the problem.

I would be going to Pilates or similar and retraining those muscles before they become a bigger issue. The reason I suggest Pilates is because it is all about movement rather than strength. That's why ballet dancers use it.

Although your cramps are in your feet, the problem didn't start there. Your feet work very hard every day. There are an enormous number of bones down there to help you balance but the calves, hamstrings, adductors, hip flexors, glutes, abdominals, back muscles and lots of other elements with unusual names are involved.

Don't think of it as another neurological problem. Plenty of people without any obvious problem get these cramps. It may be that you need muscle relaxants but without exercise they just make you feel weak.

Regards,

hi cruth i have a question related to something scott mentioned earlier, above.
iima, what is your total estimated daily magnesium intake in milligrams from all sources (food fluids supplements etc)?