Those awful cramps that occur in the lower legs. I fall asleep, wake to stretch, overstretch my feet & the cramps hit. :eek:
Not necessarily in my big calf muscles. Lately they seem to radiate out of my toes into smaller muscles, on the sides of my lower legs.
And while I’m asking, what’s the cure? Nutrition? Exercise?
I’d always heard that potassium helps, but I have no evidence. Go eat a banana, or use salt substitute (potassium chloride).
Calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E, and drink lots more water than you have been.
Would taking a Tums help, then?
FWIW (and I do know this method does not work with all people) the cure I found took practice, in my case as soon as the pain starts I stretch the leg but at the same time point the toes and foot up towards the upper body with a lot of might. Letting others do it (the classic bit of a coach pulling the leg and pointing the feet towards the upper body) does not work for me.
I guess for me the fear of causing more pain in my legs prevented me from finding the solution before, but once again, I do not think this method will work with all. YMMV.
A combination of calcium and magnesium, and some tonic water wouldn’t hurt. (Drink it–don’t pour it on the affected area. 
)
I agree about the magnesium. However, the most common form, magnesium oxide, is not absorbed very well. Magnesium citrate or glycinate are better, and worth paying a little more for.
In my case they are due to lower back spinal trauma. The bigger mystery to me is why Americans say “Charley Horse” instead of the far simpler and more descriptive “cramp”.
Shari Lewis
These tend to be of uncertain etiology for the most part. Since muscle cramps and symptoms related to nerves can be triggered by abnormalities in various body chemistries–calcium and potassium in particular–attention is often paid to making sure those are normal. Because of the relationship between intracellular (difficult to measure) and extracellular (blood) levels, even with “normal” blood levels patients are often encourage to use dietary supplements which make sure those elements are not deficient.
Quinine has also been a popular traditional bedtime remedy, and in years past at least has been a common physician recommendation as well.
Back in my days as a practicing Internist (a different millenium) I don’t remember much success treating these…
I should mention that too much of anything in the electrolyte family–calcium, magnesium, potassium (and even quinine or anything else that can alter conduction and membrane potentials)–can be harmful so it’s not like you can just load up on them and see if it cures you.
Munching a TUMS works pretty well for me.
In the People’s Pharmacy newspaper column, an astonishing number of readers write to say the “bar of soap” treatment keeps away leg cramps for them. You don’t eat the soap, or wash your legs with it. Put it under the bed sheet, near the foot of the bed. Is that wacky, or what?:dubious:
Among my friends (at least those with whom this topic has come up), the two have a very different meaning.
In our vernacular, the phenomenon described by the OP is what we would call a “cramp.” A “Charlie Horse” is what happens when you hit someone’s thigh in just the right spot (about halfway down the thigh on the exterior side) with with your fist, inducing a cringe-worthy flash of pain and residual discomfort and numbness in the leg. If you’re wondering why we’d do this, well, boys will be boys, I suppose (I should note that I haven’t seen it done in quite some time at this point).
Does anyone else take “Charlie Horse” to mean something similar?
Yes. I’ve understood a “charlie horse” to mean a strain of a hamstring muscle. Anyway, cramps can be caused by many different reasons, even excessive use of a muscle. I’ve had cramps in my calves after swimming, which soon dissipated after I stopped swimming. I sometimes get calf cramps now when lying in bed. I believe these are caused by “tired muscles”: too much use of my calf muscles running or playing tennis. My cure is simply to stand up, and the cramp disappears. But nutrition (or lack thereof) and dehydration can also cause cramps.
The additional info, which I did not post, is that by standing, more blood is diverted into the calf muscles (there are two in each leg). The cramp is apparently caused, at least in my case, by a lack of blood to the muscle
Well, the OP, for one.
I get really bad ones once in a while. Like, actively trying not to yell in pain. I’ve had some luck with GIGObuster’s technique, though.
You’d have to drink gallons of tonic water to get enough quinine to make a difference. I think you’d be sick from the sugar first, or at least really hammered from the gin.
In my universe (apparently quite small), a charlie (N.B.) horse is a cramp-like muscle pain without muscle contraction. A knot of sorts just appears in a muscle and the usual basic anti-cramp techniques, like stretching, does nothing. I’ve had some charlie horses where the spot was still sore for a couple days afterwards.
No blow to the muscle involved at all.
When I asked my doc about nightly leg cramps, he recommended stretching my legs before bed. Works like a charm.
I’d call it a “cramp” for what the OP describes. A “charley horse” is what you get when someone hits you in a big muscle (usually arm, sometimes leg), preferably with one knuckle of the fist extended for that special penetration.
Keeping the lower legs warm seems to help lower the frequency, at least for me and my mother ( she was a restless sleeper, and would often end up with a lower leg uncovered ).