What Causes Leg Cramps At Night?

Leg cramps at night can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'troubling' to 'needs attention'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

Diagnose your symptoms now!

check your overall health status
identify any nutritional deficiencies
have a doctor review your case (optional)

Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose leg cramps at night, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "leg cramps at night" as a symptom. For example, dehydration.

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

allergies to certain foods

frequent confusion/disorientation

dizziness when standing up

being very easily irritated

infrequent daytime urination

frequent unexplained nausea

hallucinations

increased emotional instability

severe vision disturbances

poor balance

indoor allergies

regular runny nose

... and more than 20 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of leg cramps at night.

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate muscle cramps/twitching or severe muscle cramps/twitching, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Do you experience leg or foot cramping at night?

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ No
→ In the past only
→ Current minor problem
→ Current major problem

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate absence of night leg cramps, history of night leg cramps or night time leg cramps, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as Dehydration. Dehydration may play a role in muscle cramping.

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™