Leg cramp sufferers?

McKneff

The bar of soap in the sheets doesn't work

System

McKneff wrote: »

The bar of soap in the sheets doesn't work

Does for my husband.

kerri_gt

I get cramp in the arches of my feet a lot - not usually from running but other fitness classes I do and not because I haven't warmed up enough. Following on from the potassium advise, a banana before exercise does seem to help this.

JJ_Egan

So would a banana in the bed be better than a bar of soap .

Your GP may be willing to prescribe Quinine tablets for cramps .

indesisiv

I was reading this and thought of this thread: https://www.irunfar.com/2018/01/holy-cramp-the-science-of-exercise-associated-cramping.html

cazs

I get night cramps from time to time, funnily enough last night was the first one in a while, I tend to use some rude words for those killer 30 seconds before it starts to calm.
I believe they are a result of de-hydration.

danandjens_worldtravels

I and members of my family have suffered from leg cramp, usually at night.

Drinking tonic water, from a glass a day to sometimes just once a month has prevented the cramps.

It could all be psychological (personally I doubt it) and mine were never caused by exercise (I don’t run) but it worked for me. I heard about it when someone told me their doctor prescribed quinine tablets for cramp (before ‘timterweb).

Give it a go, it’s worth a few bottles to find out, the pain of night time leg cramp is awful! At worst you’ve drank a fizzy drink you don’t like. I actually disliked tonic water for a long time, but have grown to like it. I even choose it on planes to ease the journey - sans gin!

cazs

Yeah, I can can suddenly wake with nasty leg cramps normally followed by uttering ****ity *ity **** and I don't normally use bad langauge. It's so sudden and so painful but normally the pain dies down within about 90 seconds but the back of the calf still feels tender in the morning and will do for some hours.
I think they're down to insufficient hydration.
I also sometimes get cramp in my feet but that's during the day.

melanzana

Quinine tabs are off the menu now apparently, not prescribed anymore.

I get calf cramps occasionally and I have often screamed with the pain, but I'm a gurl so I can do this lol.

Only thing that works is to jump out of bed and put hands on the wall, and stretch the affected leg backwards. I hope you can visualise this stupid illustration!

So then the cramp subsides and I am awake for ages. Win/lose.

I tried magnesium tablets 250mg about two weeks ago, and haven't had a cramp since. OK, I know I am tempting fate, but still.

Slinky

I sometimes get cramp in my calves or feet. Usually on a Friday night after a couple of gin and tonics........... so I'm not convinced tonic water is the answer!

I now make sure I drink the same amount of water as I do the alcoholic drink and that helps. As does making sure I have enough salt (don't eat much prepackaged food these days so have to remember to actually add salt to food). Wearing a pair of loose fitting socks can help me if it's in my feet, plus the most important thing to remember is to breathe deeply whilst the cramp is occuring to try and get oxygen delivered to the muscle. The temptation is to stop breathing which makes it worse.