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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Does Magnesium Cause Lower Back Pain And Harm Kidneys?

I wsa taking 500mg of magnesium a day for leg cramps. About 3 weeks into this practice, I developed lower back pain, pretty strong pain. Could this have been harming the kidneys. After I stopped, the pain went away ( in time). Or could this be a sign that I do have weak kidneys???
Mon, 4 May 2015
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Hello,

the pain you've felt has nothing to do with magnesium. If your kidney function is intact then your kidneys have a large potential to excrete excess magnesium. Besides that hypermagnesemia is not supposed to cause flank pain.

"Weak" kidneys do not cause flank pain either. The pain could have been related to kidney stones, muscle sprains etc. I couldn't tell by the location of the pain only. More data and clinical examination are required.

Please note that in most cases magnesium supplementation is pointless. I would suggest measuring your blood magnesium before starting supplementation in the future. If it's low then you can benefit from it. If it's not (which is the most common scenario) then there is no reason to use it.

You can contact me again, if you still have questions about this subject.

Kind Regards!
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Does Magnesium Cause Lower Back Pain And Harm Kidneys?

Hello, the pain you ve felt has nothing to do with magnesium. If your kidney function is intact then your kidneys have a large potential to excrete excess magnesium. Besides that hypermagnesemia is not supposed to cause flank pain. Weak kidneys do not cause flank pain either. The pain could have been related to kidney stones, muscle sprains etc. I couldn t tell by the location of the pain only. More data and clinical examination are required. Please note that in most cases magnesium supplementation is pointless. I would suggest measuring your blood magnesium before starting supplementation in the future. If it s low then you can benefit from it. If it s not (which is the most common scenario) then there is no reason to use it. You can contact me again, if you still have questions about this subject. Kind Regards!