lav@mtsbb.UUCP (L.A.VALLONE) (10/21/86)
> > In article <1020@sunybcs.UUCP> colonel@sunybcs.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman) writes: > > >Nobody seems to have responded yet, or is my news feed down again? Anyway, > > >Charley Horse ... The only treatment I know of is to point your toes, which > > >makes it hurt worse but only temporarily. > > > > How odd, I recieved the opposite advice: I was told, as a child, to jump out > > of bed and gently but firmly *put weight* on the foot/leg. This stretches > > the cramped muscle (mine were always in the back of the leg, and still are), > > the opposite of pointing the toes, which minimizes pulling on the cramp. > > > well pointing the toes doesnt sound too good, it would tense up the muscle > which is already in pain from being tensed. stretching out the muscle > sounds a lot better. i think the theory is good, but i personally have > found it incredibly painful. my method is to massage the muscle. > when it relaxes i have to be careful not to tense it at all for a few minutes > or it will start spasming again. this is when stretching it by (trying to) > stand up helps me. > i think the original quesition was not what to do once this occurs - > everybody figures out SOMETHING to do pretty darn quick- but rather how > to prevent it from recurring. nobody has really rebuted my statement that > in most (?) people a mineral deficiency is to blame. When I was younger, I was getting nocturnal leg cramps about once a week (which I assume is fairly often) but only during the summer months (much less frequently during the winter). Curiously enough, the cramps disappeared after I joined my high school track team. Since my diet hadn't changed I assumed (and still do) that this was due to the stretching exercises that preceded my track workouts. The problem has never surfaced again. This assumption is totally empirical based on a sample of 1. -- Lee Vallone AT&T Information Systems Merlin {... ihnp4, mtuxo}!mtsbb!lav
ron@eed092.UUCP (ron tribble ) (10/22/86)
night craps in the legs are no stranger to me... the only thing i have found that works well for me is to GET UP nad walk around until the pain stops. if i'm not too tired i will stay up and read or watch tv for an hour or two and then go back to bed. if the pain was or is bad i pay my wife the honor of not going back to our bed so that i can get into a different condition and not wake her up all night with tossing and turning. the origin of the problem was a sking accident i had in high school that resulted in tendon and muscle damage to both knees. the usual route for pain to occur is unusual stress on the knees and/or extreme weather changes that cause pain in the knees anywhere from a dull ache to (rarely) sharp shooting pains. this pain causes the leg muscles to stiffen and i end up with cramps. i reccomend two things for this. 1) sleep in a different place or position. 2) SCOTCH! ihnp4!mb2c!ccd700!eed092!ron ron tribble
maslak@sri-unix.ARPA (Valerie Maslak) (10/30/86)
As an aside, many women get leg cramps as a result of calcium deficiency.