# What Causes "Charley Horses"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 12, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133 "2009-05-12T03:20:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/21 "2009-05-13T03:01:09Z")
> [@redtail23](#): > > When I asked my doc about nightly leg cramps, he recommended stretching my legs before bed. Works like a charm. Bingo, and I should have mentioned this in my earlier post. For some reason I go through periods getting leg/calf cramps nearly every night, which can go on for a couple of weeks, then stop for no obvious reason. I’ve found if I just stretch my calves\* a few times a day, the problem either goes away more quickly, or is much less severe. I also take more vitamins when the cramping is bad\*\*, so its not clear what finally resolves the problem. I’ve also had some luck slipping into the hot tub at bleeding hot temps just before bed, but YMMV. \*My method is to just stand on a stair with my heels hanging over nothing, then slowly drop my heel as far as I can. Rinse/repeat. \*\*Bad == I jolt awake from the pain, can’t move my legs because of the cramps, and my wife (who is unfortunately now awake, poor girl) basically beats on my calves with her fists until the cramps lessen and I can get out of bed and stretch. ---
**Author:** ![Ring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Ring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ring)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/22 "2009-05-13T03:38:31Z")
I used to get cramps but all I had to do was get up and walk around a little and it’d go away. My doctor advised taking a couple of swigs of tonic water before bed - worked like a charm. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/23 "2009-05-13T03:44:08Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#): > > 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). That’s the common peroneal pressure point, a favorite striking area for martial artists to take out an attacker’s leg without causing serious damage. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/24 "2009-05-13T03:46:15Z")
I used to get them once in a while as a teenager. I don’t think I ever got them after high school. Or not very often–I can’t remember the last time I ever got them. I’m not sure what I did differently. Well, exercised more I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/25 "2009-05-13T04:47:39Z")
I get them, too. I wake up screaming in pain, and it usually scares the crap out of the husband and dog. For me, I find that if my legs are too hot, they seem to happen. I take a multivitamin daily, drink lots of fluid, and do strength training, but… go figure. Jeezum crow, they hurt like the f’ing devil, and screw up my sleep for the night, as I’m terrified they’ll happen again after they happen once. I end up trying to sleep “toes up” to keep the calf stretched. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/26 "2009-05-13T04:55:40Z")
> [@Atomic\_Mama](#): > > 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? Is this a new thing for you? I never got them as a child and all of a sudden started getting them with the start of a new medication (it was an anti-inflammatory). At the time I figured it couldn’t be good for my heart so I stopped taking it. It was pulled from the market for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![reef\_shark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bbe5ce/32.png) [@reef\_shark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reef_shark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/27 "2009-05-13T05:28:33Z")
> [@hobscrk777](#): > > 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? Yep, a “charlie horse” is caused by external means (aka a punch or kick). I find it hard to understand how it could be a “cramp”. The result of a “charlie horse” is usually a bruise or some type of soreness. A cramp is a cramp. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/28 "2009-05-13T05:39:36Z")
> [@reef\_shark](#): > > Yep, a “charlie horse” is caused by external means (aka a punch or kick). I find it hard to understand how it could be a “cramp”. The result of a “charlie horse” is usually a bruise or some type of soreness. A cramp is a cramp. But I’ve had leg cramps and they feel different from what I thought a charley horse was. Charley horses seem to come on really suddenly during sleep. I’ve never had a cramp that felt as sharp or painful as that–not even menstrual cramps. They’re painful but more dull. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2009, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133/29 "2009-05-13T19:36:25Z")
> **[Night-Time Leg Cramps | Dr. Gabe Mirkin on Health](https://www.drmirkin.com/health/morehealth/6752.html)** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-causes-charley-horses/496133.md?page=1)