Mathematical Modeling of Muscle Cramps and The Significance of Pain in Pregnant Women Caused by Muscle Cramps and Other Pregnancy Symptoms

Nocturnal leg cramps are a common symptom of pregnancy that interrupt sleeping patterns and cause many women significant pain. This symptom, though a fairly common occurrence among pregnancies, is severely under-researched. How cramps are formed, sustained, and released is unknown, and there are minimal efforts to determine it. This thesis focuses on muscle cramps and the prevalence, impact, and disparities of pregnancy symptoms. The technical project was completed in a capstone team under the Department of Biomedical Engineering, where I collaborated with a partner to model the muscle for use in muscle cramp research. My STS research investigates the pain associated with pregnancy and how it is viewed and treated by society, medical professionals, and researchers.