Leg cramps with Stenosis

I do...its so painful. Moving and changing positions but the best is applying Heat. I use a thermalon heat pad you heat in the microwave and it calms it.

@annie1

I have lumbar stenosis and DDD. I have been getting injections to delay surgery as long as possible. Did you have cramping before surgery and he is you have a neurologist do an EMG/nerve conduction study before surgery to identify the nerves involved? Did the neurologist or spine surgeon say that surgery would help address the cramping? I have not heard that lumbar spine would be linked to leg/calf cramping. I wonder if dehydration, blood flow, nutritional deficiencies, small fiber neuropathy, etc. could be linked to your symptoms. If the surgery was meant to relieve pressure on certain peripheral nerves causing your cramping, it could take a long time for nerves to heal or regenerate after being decompressed. You may want to look into what can be done through diet, exercise and supplements to support nerve health. Are you doing physical therapy to help increase movement, blood flow, strength and reduce scar tissue formation? I wonder if scar tissue could be compressing nerves causing cramping sensations.

I have severe lumbar stenosis. I injured my upper spine while lifting weights on New Year’s Eve, and have had full body twitching and cramping since then. About 3 weeks ago, all of my symptoms started to wane. My calves still can cramp if I try to flex that muscle as much as I can, but never out of the blue anymore. I attribute the improvement to doing calf raises at the gym both standing and sitting alternating every 3 days. Believe me, I had to start very slowly, but I have been gaining strength every week finally, and yesterday I was close to full strength on my calf raises. I really need to work on getting my thighs back to normal as I have obvious wasting on my left thigh and slightly on my right. The hardest thing to do is get back full thigh strength with a bad back. They go together in just about every exercise that improves thigh strength.
I have not had any back surgeries yet, but I just looked up your procedure and will mention it to my spine doctor when I see a new guy for a second opinion next month. It sounds like something that could help my back and regaining strength in my legs. I thank you for your post.
I wouldn’t freak out about the cramping. Just stay hydrated with electrolytes and keep getting stronger. I thought my situation would never improve after 4 months of no improvements. I now have hope.

@annie1 - Sorry you have leg cramps! They can be painful and often interrupt sleep. I had both cervical and lumbar "big" surgeries in 2023 and leg cramping was not one of my pre-surgical symptoms. In fact, only at 12+ post surgeries did leg cramps become a problem for me. The fact that all my other DDD, stenosis, and spondy pre-surgical symptoms are gone - I can't make a connection between lumbar stenosis and leg cramps.

I have been experimenting and have found two things that seem to alleviate the cramping: (1) Greatly increase water consumption. I drink 80-100 ounces of water a day and consume at least 20 ounces of water containing concentrated electrolytes. I currently prefer Liquid IV. (2) I now take 500 mg of magnesium as a supplement. Magnesium is difficult to get through normal dietary intake yet a deficiency can create leg cramping.

So far so good. Cramping is much less frequent and when it happens, less severe. Might be worth a try for you? If you try it - let us know if it helped. Trying to build our knowledge base!

Annie,

Since 1994 I have had several back surgeries, including a short fusion from L4-S1. BTW, the fusion didn't fuse all the way. Another topic. To the point, I have leg cramps most of the time especially if I over due it. On a side note: I have seen several surgions (experts) in spinal stenosis, disk degeneration, etc. I have also had ablations, as well as blocks, none of these have helped that much. Now the Doc's want me to have a PSO. Virginia Mason in Seattle, WA performs 700+ of these a year. It's a very length surgery and a year if you are lucky for recovery. I tell you all of this so that you are aware of the road you travel. Be very careful with whom you elect for any future back specialists. As you know the hospitals are for profit.

The last thought: if I had to do it all again I would go to PT for as long as you can until the pain is unbearable and consider AZ, CO, CA, NY TX for second opinions. Well, that's my two cents and probably more information than you really need. Just thought I would share.

Good Luck

I suffer from leg cramps also. It's very painful! I also use heat to calm it down . It very well could be dehydration, I'm just not sure. I had spine surgery a few years back and prior to that surgery, I didn't have leg cramps. Now that I am in need of another surgery, this time the cramps are so bad, the pain goes all the way down my leg and into my foot and toes. It takes several minutes to get it to stop then, if you can stand up, I find that once I'm up on my feet and walking around it will eventually go away. Good Luck everyone!

Thanks for your response, I have to remember to drink more water !

Do you have neurogenic claudication? I was told to stay hydrated (I do) and take tizanidine. Neither helped then I was diagnosed with neurogenic claudication. The only thing that helps is to lay down and get the weight off the spine. Good luck. I also take Norco (10 mg/5/day) and that barely helps.

@yrm
I do have neurogenic claudication and need to read up on it again. I have so many things wrong with my spine that it is hard to keep track of what is causing what and what to do to feel better.

Yes I have neurogenic claudication along with Severe Stenosis. I think I mentioned that I had minimally invasive surgery on March 1, a laminotomy, not laminectomy. Anyway, after seven weeks of recovery I was doing really well, I could walk and stand much much longer than before the surgery, but then I started acting like I was "normal" again. Which means I would walk for twenty minutes without pain......until night. Then it started, the horrible cramps that go all the way up my leg, only one side, the side that has always been worse. The thing that worries me is that I started taking the Oxycodone they gave me and it helps for a few hours then I'm up again with awful spasms that go all the way through my whole body sometimes. I have alot of other fears, basically no real support system besides "I'm sorry your pain is coming back" from a few friends. My family dosen't help at all, no partner. I'm going to the surgeon this week for another post op so I hope he can offer some help. I was feeling so good I booked a flight for a conference in Europe and now I'm worried I will have to cancel. Sorry just ventilating. I'm really not up for another surgery. I have severe osteoporosis which is a huge contraindication for fusion.