Effectiveness of Intradialytic Leg Stretching Exercises to Reduce Muscle Cramps among Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis

Jogindra Vati*
Sri Guru Harkrishan Sahib College of Nursing, Punjab, India.
Periodicity:November - January'2022
DOI : https://doi.org/10.26634/jnur.11.4.18325

Abstract

Muscle cramp is one of the most frequent problems experienced by patients during hemodialysis who have low functional capacity, decreased muscle strength, and fatigue and are associated with poor health-related quality of life. Providing exercises reduce muscle cramps by improving muscle strength and flexibility. Workouts also increase blood flow and open capillary surface areas, thereby increasing waste removal. To evaluate the effectiveness of intradialytic exercises to reduce the frequency and intensity of muscle cramps among patients undergoing hemodialysis, a preexperiment, one group pre-test, and a post-test study were conducted on 60 patients who confirmed the inclusion and exclusion criteria recruited consecutively. A structured interview schedule, self-developed muscle cramps assessment proforma, and visual analogue scale were used after getting approved by the ethical committee and taking permission from hospital authorities. Intradialytic active and passive leg exercises were performed as per the developed protocol. A post-test was conducted after a follow-up period of 6 weeks. Data analysis was done using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result shows a significant decrease in the frequency and pain intensity of muscle cramps after exercise. There was no significant association of muscle cramps with the selected socio-demographic and clinical variables, except in post-intervention with sedentary lifestyles. The muscle cramps were more among patients with sedentary lifestyles than non-sedentary. Intradialytic stretching leg exercises were highly effective in reducing muscle cramps' frequency and pain intensity. Nurses must include this program as a part of routine care for all patients after assessing risks subjected to hemodialysis.

Keywords

End-Stage Kidney Disease, Hemodialysis, Muscle Cramps, Intradialytic, Leg Stretching Exercises.

How to Cite this Article?

Vati, J. (2022). Effectiveness of Intradialytic Leg Stretching Exercises to Reduce Muscle Cramps among Patients Undergoing Hemodialysis. i-manager’s Journal on Nursing, 11(4), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.26634/jnur.11.4.18325

References

[1]. Bikbov, B., Purcell, C. A., Levey, A. S., Smith, M., Abdoli, A., Abebe, M., ... & Owolabi, M. O. (2020). Global, regional, and national burden of chronic kidney disease, 1990–2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet, 395(10225), 709-733. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30045-3
[2]. Chandralekha, C. S., & Prabha, M. R. (2020). Intradialytic stretching exercises on fatigue and muscle cramps. International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology, 5(11), 947-952.
[3]. Chavda, A., & Singh, S. (2018). Intradialytic stretching exercise: A conservative way to reduce muscle cramps. International Journal Nursing and Medical Investigation (IJNMI), 3(2), 35-38.
[4]. Ghaleb, M. A., & Sharaf, A. Y. (2020). The effects of nursing interventions on intradialytic muscle cramps among patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS), 9(1), 8-21.
[5]. Himmelfarb, J., Vanholder, R., Mehrotra, R., & Tonelli, M. (2020). The current and future landscape of dialysis. Nature Reviews Nephrology, 16(10), 573-585. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-020-0315-4
[6]. International Society of Nephrology. (n.d.). Global Kidney Health Atlas. Retrieved from https://www.theisn.org/initiatives/global-kidney-health-atlas/
[7]. Isaac, S. & Jacob, D. A. (2016). Effectiveness of intradialytic stretching exercise on muscle cramps among patients undergoing hemodialysis. Asian Journal of Phytomedicine and Clinical Research, 4(2), 80-86.
[8]. Jancy, P. O., & Parimala, S. (2020). Assess the effect of intradialytic stretching exercises to reduce leg muscle cramps among patients undergoing hemodialysis in selected dialysis unit of Ernakulum District. International Journal of Nephrology and Kidney Failure, 6(3), 1-6. 10.16966/2380- 5498.198
[9]. Jha, V., Garcia-Garcia, G., Iseki, K., Li, Z., Naicker, S., Plattner, B., ... & Yang, C. W. (2013). Chronic kidney disease: global dimension and perspectives. The Lancet, 382(9888), 260-272. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60687-X
[10]. Johansen, K. L. (2007). Exercise in the end-stage renal disease population. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 18(6), 1845-1854. https://doi.org/10.1681/ASN.2007010009
[11]. Lekha, J., Abraham, E.J., & Malarvizhi, G. (2017). Effectiveness of intradialytic stretching exercises on prevention and reduction of muscle cramps among patients undergoing hemodialysis at PSG Hospitals Coimbatore. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS), 6(2), 47-53. 10.9790/1959-0602044753
[12]. Liyanage, T., Ninomiya, T., Jha, V., Neal, B., Patrice, H. M., Okpechi, I., ... & Perkovic, V. (2015). Worldwide access to treatment for end-stage kidney disease: a systematic review. The Lancet, 385(9981), 1975-1982. 10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61601-9
[13]. Luyckx, V. A., Miljeteig, I., Ejigu, A. M., & Moosa, M. R. (2017, May). Ethical challenges in the provision of dialysis in resource-constrained environments. In Seminars in Nephrology, 37(3), 273-286. WB Saunders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.semnephrol.2017.02.007
[14]. Modi, G. K., & Jha, V. (2006). The incidence of endstage renal disease in India: a population-based study. Kidney International, 70(12), 2131-2133. https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ki.5001958
[15]. Panchiri, M., Joshi, S., & Dumbre, D. (2017). Reduction of muscle cramps among patients undergoing Hemodialysis: The effectiveness of intradialytic stretching exercises. Amarjeet Kaur Sandhu, 64-69. 10.5958/0974-9357.2017.00098.8
[16]. Rajapurkar, M. M., John, G. T., Kirpalani, A. L., Abraham, G., Agarwal, S. K., Almeida, A. F., ... & Jha, V. (2012). What do we know about chronic kidney disease in India: First report of the Indian CKD registry. BMC Nephrology, 13(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2369-13-10
[17]. Raosoft. (2004). Raosoft Sample Size Calculator. Raosoft, Inc., Seattle. Retrieved from http://www.raosoft. com/samplesize.html
[18]. Robinson, B. M., Akizawa, T., Jager, K. J., Kerr, P. G., Saran, R., & Pisoni, R. L. (2016). Factors affecting outcomes in patients reaching end-stage kidney disease worldwide: Differences in access to renal replacement therapy, modality use, and haemodialysis practices. The Lancet, 388(10041), 294-306. 10.1016/S0140-6736(16)30448-2
[19]. Salem, S. S., & Elhadary, S. M. (2017). Effectiveness of intra-dialytic stretching exercises on leg muscle cramp among hemodialysis patients. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS), 6(2), 47-53. 10.9790/1959-0602094753
[20]. Soliman, H. M. M. (2015). Effect of intradialytic exercise on fatigue, electrolytes level and blood pressure in hemodialysis patients: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 5(11), 16-28. https://doi.org/10.5430/ jnep.v5n11p16
[21]. Ulu, S., & Ahsen, A. (2015). Muscle cramps during hemodialysis: what can we do? new approachs for treatment and preventing. European Journal of General Medicine, 12(3), 277-281. 10.15197/ ejgm.01391
[22]. Vimala, A. (2018). Effectiveness of Intradialytic Stretching Exercises on Reduction of Muscle Cramps among patients undergoing Haemodialysis at Sundaram Hospital, Trichy (Doctoral dissertation, Indira College of Nursing, Tiruchirappalli).
If you have access to this article please login to view the article or kindly login to purchase the article

Purchase Instant Access

Single Article

North Americas,UK,
Middle East,Europe
India Rest of world
USD EUR INR USD-ROW
Pdf 35 35 200 20
Online 35 35 200 15
Pdf & Online 35 35 400 25

Options for accessing this content:
  • If you would like institutional access to this content, please recommend the title to your librarian.
    Library Recommendation Form
  • If you already have i-manager's user account: Login above and proceed to purchase the article.
  • New Users: Please register, then proceed to purchase the article.