Muscle cramps in liver cirrhosis: Pathophysiology, burden, and emerging therapeutic approaches

Muscle cramps are a frequent yet underrecognized complication in patients with liver cirrhosis, affecting up to 88% of this population and contributing substantially to morbidity and impaired quality of life. These painful, involuntary contractions are often overlooked due to the clinical emphasis on life-threatening complications of cirrhosis despite their independent association with poor functional status, sleep disturbance, and psychosocial decline. The precise pathophysiology remains incomp