# Charlie Horses: Who and Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896 "2000-02-03T22:33:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/1 "2000-02-03T22:33:00Z")
What causes these painful cramps, and what methods have people found successful to relieve them? Also, where does this term come from? Who was Charlie? ---
**Author:** ![Meow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Meow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meow)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/2 "2000-02-03T22:36:00Z")
When I get one, I stand up on that leg and stretch out the muscle. It seems weird the first time you try it, but it stops the pain. Meow! ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/3 "2000-02-03T22:42:00Z")
Stretching it works for me. I have heard two explainations for them, dehydration and a lack of potassium. So, drink more water and eat more bananas. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/4 "2000-02-03T22:45:00Z")
I don’t know who Charlie was, but strangely enough the same thing is called a “muscle-tomcat” in German (Muskelkater). Someone try to figure that one out. ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/5 "2000-02-03T22:52:00Z")
Muscle means “little mouse,” so what else would attack your leg mouse but a tomcat? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/6 "2000-02-03T22:55:00Z")
I get them when I am hung over. My wife is a doctor of nursing and says that it is from a vitamin deficiency. I think it is the same mechanism that casuses RLS, Potassium and calcium deficiency…(how’s that for a WAG?) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2000, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/7 "2000-02-03T23:30:00Z")
Y’all will have to forgive me again for not having the cite handy, but here’s what I’ve read about the term: During the reign of Charles II (I think, don’t quote me), a lot of new peace officers were put on the streets. There weren’t enough horses for all of them. Those who had to walk a beat often got painful leg cramps, which they attributed to riding “King Charlie’s Horse.” ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/8 "2000-02-04T00:45:00Z")
Addressing the latter part of the OP, I use Arnica Gel after a rough muscular day. It’s homeopathic, and works. Get it at any decent health food/vitamin type of joint. Tell em The Toon sent you, I need the residuals. Cartooniverse * * * If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/9 "2000-02-04T16:04:00Z")
I have always heard the term “charlie horse” applied when the muscle pain was due to a stout impact with a blunt object (a knuckle to the arm, a helmet to the thigh, etc.). The phenomenon y’all describe I have always heard refered to as a “muscle cramp”. Is there a difference? Is the usage with which I’m familiar regional? Max’s explanation would seem to indicate “no” and “yes”, repectively. * * * The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. – E. Grebenik ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Zambezi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Mr.Zambezi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Zambezi)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/10 "2000-02-04T16:38:00Z")
I always understood charlie horse to mean an intense muscle cramp. The blows given wer called charlie horse because they are meant to induce the same sensation. ---
**Author:** ![frolix8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f04885/32.png) [@frolix8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frolix8)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/11 "2000-02-04T17:07:00Z")
Here’s some info on the word’s origin. [http://www.word-detective.com/052699.html#charleyhorse](http://www.word-detective.com/052699.html#charleyhorse) It’s down the page a bit. ---
**Author:** ![TheThill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheThill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheThill)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/12 "2000-02-04T21:10:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by aseymayo: > **Muscle means “little mouse,” so what else would attack your leg mouse but a tomcat?** Good point, but I can’t imagine how that got to be a popular idea. Must of had some very well-educated proponents. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/13 "2000-02-04T21:19:00Z")
“Charlie Horse” typically refers to the knotting of muscles caused by dehydration usually occuring after excercise. Te best way to combat em is to stretch prior to exercising and drink plenty of (non-alcoholic) fluids. After playing basketball for 2+ hours last night, I had em baaad in both calves. Drinking a 1/2 gallon of water helped immensely. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/14 "2000-02-04T21:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Cartooniverse: > It’s homeopathic, and works. [Highjacking thread] That would be an oxymoron. [/highjacking thread] Charlie Horse… would that be a gay hobbyhorse? _blink blink_ ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2000, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/15 "2000-02-04T21:42:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Cartooniverse: > It’s homeopathic, and works. [Highjacking thread] That would be an oxymoron. [/highjacking thread] Charlie Horse… would that be a gay hobbyhorse? _blink blink_ ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/16 "2000-02-07T16:09:00Z")
Mirriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary notes that the first documented use of the term is in 1888, which sounds like it works with the baseball origin suggested at the website linked above. Clearly, the idea that King Charles is the origin is pretty difficult to sustain given lack of usage until the nineteenth century. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/17 "2000-02-07T16:34:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by aseymayo: > **Muscle means “little mouse,” so what else would attack your leg mouse but a tomcat?** Um… am I the only one who thought of “mouse” and “muscle” and “leg mouse” being something quite different than a cramping muscle? I \* DEFINITELY \* would not like a tomcat attacking that particular “leg mouse”!! * * * **FixedBack** “When learned men begin to use their reason, then I generally discover that they haven’t got any.”~~\*G.K.Chesterton 1908 \* ---
**Author:** ![Nickrz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@Nickrz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nickrz)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/18 "2000-02-07T16:39:00Z")
That explains the term “love muscle.” ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/19 "2000-02-07T16:41:00Z")
Me again! I forgot to add that the surgeon who worked on my back is giving me quinine sulfate to reduce the cramping of the muscles in my legs caused by random nerve impulses originating from my damaged spinal cord. It seems to help, but I still wolf down bananas, artichokes, and avocadoes which are all rich in potassium. * * * **FixedBack** “When learned men begin to use their reason, then I generally discover that they haven’t got any.”~~\*G.K.Chesterton 1908 \* ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2000, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/charlie-horses-who-and-why/6896/20 "2000-02-07T23:04:00Z")
## An old coot who knew my dad told us once that he stopped having leg cramps at night when he started eating a tablespoonful of honey before going to bed. (He was talking about the kind bees make, not his sweetie.) I haven’t a clue why this works, but it does. Natural-healing folks will probably say it’s trace minerals or wee traces of pollen, but I don’t think I buy that school of thought. I just know that if I forget the honey and get a cramp, I eat some before I go back to bed, and the cramp doesn’t return. AskNott