Is There Anything Dialysis Patients Can Do To Prevent Leg Pain

2015-07-07 15:49

While you are on dialysis, you may experience problems. Leg pain is one of the common problems you may suffer from. Is there anything dialysis patients can do to prevent leg pain?

1. What causes muscle cramping?

Muscle cramping of the hands, feet, and legs is fairly common on dialysis. Three conditions that seem to increase cramping including hypotension, the patient being below dry weight and use of low sodium dialysis solution.

Muscle cramps are often commonly associated with low blood pressure. However, some cramping continues even after a normal blood pressure is obtained. Actually muscle cramp can even occur without a fall in blood pressure. Besides, muscle cramps can also occur when you are below your dry weight. The severe muscle cramping experienced near the end of the dialysis treatment and persisting for a time after dialysis often is due to dehydration.

2. How to ease the pain?

If your muscle cramp is associated with your low blood pressure, you may be given normal saline. This will increase the fluid in your body and muscle cramp will be relieved. Besides, hypertonic saline or glucose may be given. Heat and massage for the muscle cramping can ease the pain.

In order to avoid muscle cramp, you have to stick to your fluid and sodium restriction every day. Keeping a balance between your dry weight and fluid gains and avoiding foods that make you thirsty and give rise to higher fluid intake are your best defense against muscle cramp.

The radical solution to ease leg pain is to improve kidney function and reduce dialysis frequency. However, there is no western medicine that can improve renal function. In clinic, Chinese medicines have been proven to repair injured kidneys and improve renal function. With the improvement of kidney function, you are able to reduce dialysis frequency and get rid of leg pain.

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