Nursing Care Plan:

Leg Cramps during Pregnancy

Pamella M. Cordero
Marie Shelley L. Franco
Andree C. Laxamana
Anna Sofia M. Reyes
BSN II - 2
Assessment: Subjective Data

“Sobrang sakit sa binti, pinupulikat, ganon.”

as verbalized by the patient.

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Assessment: Objective Data
Vital Signs
Temperature: 37.4 C
Pulse Rate: 108 bpm
Respiratory Rate: 24 cpm
Blood Pressure: 120/70 mmHg

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Assessment: Objective Data
Patient rated the pain 7/10 in the pain scale; 10
being the highest, 1 being the lowest

(+) Guarding behavior

(+) Facial grimace

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Assessment: Objective Data
Pain Assessment
P – Patient verbalized she doesn’t do anything to
make the pain go away. Patient did not mentioned
anything related to make the pain worse.

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⋄ Q – Sharp tingling pain in the calf of the leg.

⋄ R – pain confined in the calf of the leg.

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⋄ S – 7/10 in the pain scale
(10 being the highest, 1 being the lowest)

⋄ T – occurs usually when the patient stays in

one position for a long period of time ranging
from 2-3 minutes as stated by the patient.

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Diagnosis

Altered comfort: acute pain related to leg cramps

as evidenced by verbalization of pain, facial
grimacing and guarding behavior

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Inference
Increasing weight of the fetus late in pregnancy

Pressure of the fetus in the blood vessels

Decreased blood circulation

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Inference
Less oxygen for muscle tissue of the lower
extremities

Muscles operate anaerobically because of lack of

oxygen

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Inference
Production of lactic acid and other metabolites

Lactic acid build up in the tissues

Muscle cramps

Leg pain

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Planning
After 20 minutes of nursing interventions, the patient will:
⋄ Verbalize decrease in pain level from 7/10 to at least 4/10 or
lower in the pain scale
⋄ Decrease pulse rate and respiratory rate to normal range of
60-100 bpm and 12-20 cpm respectively
⋄ Verbalize feeling of comfort
⋄ Demonstrate actions that can provide relief during leg cramps
episode

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Interventions
Independent:

⋄ Establish rapport with the patient

⋄ Assess patient’s readiness to learn
⋄ Assess pain reports and note nonverbal cues
⋄ Encourage verbalization of feelings
⋄ Encourage patient to do deep breathing exercises and explain
its purpose and rationale

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Interventions
⋄ Encourage patient to ambulate from time to
time to avoid leg cramps.
⋄ Encourage patient to drink plenty of fluids.

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Interventions
⋄ Demonstrate to the patient how to massage the calf, flex the foot,
lift the toes up and push the heel out in the midst of the spasm.
Add that heat compress can help alleviate the pain. Explain the
purpose and rationale
⋄ Ask the client to demonstrate all the procedures done (massages,
deep breathing exercises) that can provide relief during leg
cramps episodes and ask the patient to state its purpose

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Interventions
Collaborative
⋄ Encourage patient to ask her healthcare
provider about medications that can help
prevent leg cramps if nursing intervention
stated above are insufficient.

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Evaluation
After 20 minutes of nursing interventions, the goal was met.

⋄ Patient’s pain was diminished as evidenced by a rating of 2/10 in

the pain scale
⋄ Vital signs all within normal ranges as evidenced by:
● Temperature: 36.7°C
● Pulse Rate: 92 bpm
● Respirations: 19 cpm
● Blood Pressure: 120/80 mmHg

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Evaluation
⋄ Patient verbalized feeling of comfort.
⋄ Patient verbalized list of actions done to prevent
leg cramps from occuring (ambulating, drinking
plenty of fluids)

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⋄ Patient is able to list different actions done
during a leg cramp (massages; deep breathing
exercises; flexing the foot, lifting the toes up and
pushing the heel out) that provides relief.
⋄ Patient is able to demonstrate all procedures
done (massages, deep breathing exercises) that
can provide relief during leg cramps episodes
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