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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.