Can too much magnesium cause joint pain?

What excess magnesium does, in full, and the joint that is not on the list

Can too much magnesium cause joint pain is answered by listing what too much magnesium actually does, in full, and noticing the absence. In the gut, the surplus of a dose that exceeds absorption produces loose stools, diarrhoea, nausea and abdominal cramping within hours, the body's own dose limit, self-limiting and answered by a lower dose or a better salt. In the blood, the hypermagnesaemia of failed kidneys or laxative-scale intake produces drowsiness and lethargy, facial flushing, muscle weakness and lost deep tendon reflexes, low blood pressure, a slow or irregular pulse, confusion and, at the extreme, weakened breathing, the warning card's call-now list. That is the whole list, and no joint is on it: excess magnesium does not inflame a joint, does not deposit in one, does not ache in one and does not stiffen one, because surplus magnesium in working kidneys is excreted within a day or two and in failed kidneys accumulates in the blood and acts on nerves, muscles, vessels and the heart, none of which is a joint, and because magnesium is not a crystal-forming ion in joint fluid the way urate and calcium pyrophosphate are, so there is no mechanism by which a magnesium surplus could produce joint pain and no case report literature describing one. A reader with joint pain who suspects their magnesium has a joint problem and a magnesium habit, and the two are separate.

The lifter's real joint-pain list, the excess that does cause joint pain, and the question filed

The lifter's real joint-pain list is worth the page's second half because one entry on it looks like an excess of something and is. Load: a programme that outran a joint's tolerance, too much volume too fast on a knee, a shoulder or an elbow, answered by load management and a deload. Tendinopathy: pain at a tendon's insertion under load that warms up and then worsens, the elbow, the patellar tendon, the rotator cuff and the hip, a physiotherapy problem wearing a joint's name. Osteoarthritis: the wear of cartilage with age and use, stiff after rest and easier with movement, managed with strength work, weight and a GP. Inflammatory arthritis: rheumatoid, psoriatic and reactive arthritis, which swell and stiffen joints for over an hour in the morning, often symmetrically, a GP's and a rheumatologist's diagnosis. And gout: the crystal arthritis that inflames a big toe, an ankle or a knee overnight into a hot, red, exquisitely tender joint, caused by an excess of urate, the waste product of purine metabolism, in a lifter who drinks, eats a lot of meat and shellfish, carries weight, dehydrates, or takes a diuretic, an excess disease that is real and common in men who train and is treated by a GP with anti-inflammatories for the attack and urate-lowering medicine for the long run, so that a reader whose joint pain feels like too much of something is often right, and the something is urate. Red flags on any of them, a hot swollen joint, joint pain with fever, or morning stiffness over an hour, are seen promptly. The question filed: too much magnesium does not cause joint pain, the full list of what excess does having no joint on it and no mechanism existing, while a lifter's joint pain has its own list, load, tendons, osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis and gout, the last being the excess that does cause joint pain and is not magnesium, with the worked example being a dose that reaches neither the gut list nor the blood list, bisglycinate at 300mg elemental, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p.

The verdict, an absence on one list and an excess on another

Can too much magnesium cause joint pain: no, the full list of what excess magnesium does, loose stools, diarrhoea, nausea and cramping in the gut and drowsiness, flushing, weakness, low blood pressure, a slow pulse and lost reflexes in the blood, having no joint on it and no mechanism by which surplus magnesium, excreted in working kidneys and acting on nerves, muscles and the heart when it accumulates, could inflame or ache a joint, while a lifter's joint pain has its own list of load, tendons, osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis and gout, the last being the excess that does cause joint pain and being an excess of urate rather than magnesium. A dose that reaches neither list: Futuro Labs Magnesium Glycinate, bisglycinate, 300mg elemental at 80% NRV, £19.99 for 90 days at 22p a day.

What to check on the label

Questions people also ask

Does magnesium supplementation cause joint pain?

No: excess magnesium produces gut effects, loose stools, diarrhoea, nausea and cramping, and in failed kidneys or after laxative-scale intake the blood effects of drowsiness, flushing, weakness, low blood pressure and a slow pulse, with no joint effect and no mechanism for one.

Why do my joints hurt after starting magnesium?

Coincidence or a joint problem with its own cause: surplus magnesium is excreted rather than deposited and is not a crystal-forming ion in joint fluid, so a joint that began hurting in the same week as a new capsule has load, a tendon, arthritis or gout to explain it.

What excess actually causes joint pain in lifters?

Urate: gout inflames a big toe, an ankle or a knee overnight into a hot, red, tender joint in men who drink, eat a lot of meat and shellfish, carry weight, dehydrate or take diuretics, and is treated by a GP with anti-inflammatories for the attack and urate-lowering medicine for the long run.

Can magnesium build up in joints?

No: magnesium is excreted by working kidneys within a day or two and, when it accumulates in kidney failure, acts on nerves, muscles, vessels and the heart rather than depositing in joints, unlike urate and calcium pyrophosphate crystals.

When should joint pain be seen by a doctor?

For a hot swollen joint, joint pain with fever, morning stiffness lasting over an hour, symmetrical joint swelling, or pain that persists beyond a fortnight of load management, since inflammatory arthritis and gout need diagnosis and treatment.

Sources

1. The hypermagnesaemia literature: raised serum magnesium is rare with normal kidney function and occurs with impaired excretion or massive intake from magnesium laxatives and antacids, presenting with nausea, lethargy, low blood pressure, muscle weakness and slowed heart conduction, and treated in hospital with intravenous calcium and, where needed, dialysis. PubMed record
2. The hypermagnesaemia literature: the kidneys excrete surplus magnesium, so supplementation is safe for healthy adults within guidance and warrants medical advice in chronic kidney disease, where impaired excretion allows magnesium to accumulate. PubMed record
3. The vitamin D deficiency literature: severe deficiency causes osteomalacia with bone and joint pain, proximal muscle weakness, aches and cramps, common in the UK in winter and in people with dark skin or little sun exposure, diagnosed by a serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and treated on a doctor's dose. PubMed record
4. The magnesium and neuromuscular junction physiology: magnesium antagonises calcium at the presynaptic terminal and reduces acetylcholine release, so magnesium excess depresses neuromuscular transmission and produces weakness, while magnesium deficiency increases neuromuscular excitability and produces twitching, cramps and tetany. PubMed record

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