Can Muscle Cramps caused by Polycystic Kidney Disease?

Polycystic Kidney Disease is a genetic disease which refers to that there are many big and small cysts spreading on kidney. And the cysts grow with the age increase. With the enlargement and growth of the cysts, patients will suffer more and more symptoms, muscle cramps included.

Now have a clear knowledge about the symptoms and the disease.

In our daily life, many other people who don’t have any kidney disease are suffering from muscle cramps, because unhealthy living habits as follows may also lead to this discomfort.

● Tiredness

● Cold exposure

● Low calcium level

● Mental stress

If your muscle cramps are due to the above disorders, they are easy to deal with. However, for people with Polycystic Kidney Disease, muscle cramps are more likely to reveal some severe conditions.

The causes of muscle cramps associated to PKD

The muscle cramps in PKD patients usually occur or aggravate at night. The severe pain urges patients to find out the causes and managements.

1. Imbalance in fluid and electrolyte

The healthy kidneys are in charge of keeping fluid and electrolyte balance. In PKD, as kidney cysts increase in size continuously, they can damage glomeruli and renal tubules gradually, resulting in loss of kidney filtration function and reabsorption function. Then, the imbalance in fluid and electrolyte such as low calcium and magnesium may occur to cause muscle cramps.

2. Nerve damage and slow blood circulation

When kidneys are damaged by enlarged PKD cysts, more and more waste products and toxins can build up in the body to trigger many organs. Nerve damage, one of these complications, may easily cause muscle cramps, acousma, dizziness and so on. Besides, slow blood circulation, another condition associated to kidney damage, can also lead to muscle cramps.

3. Use of some drugs

People with Polycystic Kidney Disease often have to take some medications to control their symptoms. For example, ACEI is commonly used to lower high blood pressure but may cause muscle cramps.


Now if you still have curious about the muscle Cramps caused by Polycystic Kidney Disease or want to know more information about treatment, you can contact our online doctors, leave us messages or send email to kidneyhospiatalabroad@hotmail.com, we will reply you within 24 hours.