Muscle Cramps
Natural Remedies

Muscle Cramp Remedies

The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Multiple Remedies
Posted by John (CA) on 02/06/2022
★★★★☆

I am not reporting on the use of Acupressure but to state that after reading through all the remedies that produce results seem to have one common denominator. This is to divert the mind from acknowledging the cramp if only for a very short time. From pinching the upper lip, pressing between the toes to the point of being uncomfortable to eating a good dose of yellow mustard the result is the same. The mind's attention is diverted just enough to break the horrible feedback loop that keeps the cramp going. I get cramps very often and what works for as a male is to get up and urinate. That sensation is usually enough to knock the cramping muscle out of the cycle. This is also true of drinking pickle juice; a strong enough taste to distract your mind. The one solution I have a hard time fitting into this hypotheses is the use of a bar of soap under your fitted sheet. Placed down near the calves it is supposed to relieve nightly cramps. This did produce about a month and a half of blissful, cramp free sleep. But it seems to have lost its effectiveness. Too bad really. I thought I had finally found a solution to this issue.

Minerals and Eliminating Condensed Tannins
Posted by Nancy (CA) on 07/25/2021
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

It took me 6 years to track down the cause of my nighttime charley-horses and foot cramps. I finally landed on a site regarding migraines and condensed tannins which was an "aha" moment for me. I had been taking calcium, magnesium, and potassium for years with modest improvement. If I didn't take the trio, the cramping did get worse. Once I cut condensed tannins out of my diet, I got complete relief.

Condensed tannins make give fruits, vegetables, legumes, beans, and grains their color. The darker the color, the more of a problem they are for me. Not surprisingly, I no longer drink red wine--full of tannins. I stopped drinking coffee, teas (decaf still has tannins); anything aged on wood (trees are full of tannins) which means cinnamon, smoked meats, ACV, balsamic vinegar, white wines aged on wood (pinot grigio is a white wine reliably not aged on wood--it is my wine of choice along with vinho verde); very dark berries and their juices (ex: cherries, blueberries); whole grains with the hull attached; dark beans (ex: kidney beans, black beans). This is not a full food list of condensed tannins in foods; it's just a list of those things that guarantee leg and foot cramps for me. I can drink black or green tea by adding cream, the protein in the cream binds with the tannins--but one cup a day is all I dare drink.

It has meant giving up some favorite foods and beverages but the sacrifice has been worth it. As long as I take the minerals and avoid condensed tannins, no leg cramps.


Iodoral (Iodine & Potassium Iodide)
Posted by GertJr (Madison) on 07/18/2021
★★★★★

I asked about cures for leg/foot cramps and got many good responses, but nothing worked. I finally learned that thyroid can cause this problem, so I started ioderol. Fantastic, brain fog cleared with the first tablet (12.5 mg) and the cramping gradually got better. I had a dr appointment anyway and mentioned to the dr that this had helped, so he tested for thyroid (the dr who refused to test before! ) and it was low, so he started me on levothyroxine and told me to stop the ioderol.

Did that and, within 3 days, the leg and feet cramps are worse than ever. So, I added back in the ioderol, and, voila! the cramps are better. I go back in 2 weeks for a recheck of the thyroid, to see if the levo is helping.

Any thoughts? I will tell him what happened and what I'm doing for it, but I need to cover all the bases and need input. Thanks.


Epsom Salt
Posted by Michael (New Zealand) on 06/19/2021

Hello GF of PA,

I have personal experience with this one and I know how painful it can be! Really BAD.

It would be best if, in the initial instance, you perused the "Muscle Cramps/Cramping" section on this Site for a comprehensive review of the problem: sort of a "Cramps 101" for lifestyle changes etc.

I think a half cup of Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulphate/Sulfate), fully dissolved in a foot bath/bowl of water, as hot as you can (comfortably) stand it, would be good to do. Too hot and it will damage you of course! Keep your feet in for no longer than fifteen to twenty minutes (by which time the water will be cooler anyway). There is a theory that a longer soak is counter-productive.

A foot reflexologist might tell you that trans-dermal foot soaking is the way to go, especially for Magnesium which can be difficult for the body to absorb actually.

I might prefer to do this twice a day to get a quicker response.

What I would do though, is to take 1 to 5 ml (or half a tsp) of Magnesium Chloride liquid in a glass of water twice a day, always replace the cap and store below 25 degrees centigrade. (Maybe difficult for you at the moment?! ). That works a treat for me. In a genuine emergency, I have been known to down a glass of salt water on at least a couple of occasions.

If one "over doses" with Mag. you might get loose stools but that is just the body's way of restoring the balance. No harm done. Nobody die.

I hope this is helpful, it should be, especially if you carefully follow the advice on Earth Clinic ... Editors Choice section etc. Seems strange that there is not much more feedback from our learned Posters on this affliction.

This condition IS fixable!!

Cheers from Michael,

Down Under


Epsom Salt
Posted by Glitzy Feather (PA) on 06/19/2021

No tub here, ...just a shower. Does anyone know if it would help for these nighttime foot/leg cramps if I were to just soak my feet in a tub of epsom salt in the evening? Would that also help to stop the cramps? Thanks in advance for any info. I have to say how much I absolutely LOVE earth clinic. It has saved me in many instances! I TRULY APPRECIATE EARTH CLINIC AND ALL THOSE THAT SHARE THEIR CURES!


Salt
Posted by M in m (Md) on 05/31/2021
★★★★★

To Cindy: your suggestion to use a few grains of pink salt for cramps works like a charm for me...in just seconds! Thank you!


Turmeric and Olive Oil
Posted by Constance (Columbia, SC) on 03/19/2021
★★★★★

Tumeric and Olive Oil mixed and applied to muscle spasms works.

I have found great relief for various body ailments on earth clinic and they really did help me. Thanks so much!


B12
Posted by Tls (Gainesville, Florida) on 01/16/2013
★★★★★

Muscle Cramps:

I have recently started taking b12 shots and suprisingly I have had cramps only a couple times, whereas I was getting them every night.


B6
Posted by GertJr (Madison) on 02/24/2021

Thanks for the recommendation to take B6 for leg/feet cramping. Mine cramp so bad a night and I have to get up and walk around. It's like a metal bar along my calf sometimes, hard as a rock and so very painful. I am not dehydrated and get plenty of magnesium/potassium.

Those 3 things have been recommended, and mag oil, too, but don't solve the problem. I've recently started a new brand of multivitamin, so we'll see if that helps, too. But I have B6 on hand and will give it a try.


B6
Posted by Heidi (Cumming, GA) on 02/23/2021
★★★★★

I have a bottle of Vitamin B6 pills next to my bed. When I get a cramp I take one vitamin B6 and as soon I swallow it, the muscle relaxes and the pain is gone.
I have usually cramps in feet and legs. Hope it helps other people as well.

Salt
Posted by Clare W. (Banbury ) on 02/17/2021
★★★★★

I had cramping in my calf. Not excruciating, but constant and uncomfortable, for four days. Tried the organic cider vinegar with the mother but it didn't work. I took a teaspoon of Sole (a drink made with pink HImalayan salt and water) which is something I always have. The cramp subsided and left a small residual ache. I only feel it slightly if I put my legs up.


Bar of Soap
Posted by Lucy S. (United States) on 10/24/2019
★★★★★

Having dreadful foot and leg cramps on chemo. Trying ginger and cayenne. A good cure for regular cramps is placing a bar of soap between your bed sheets. I know, it sounds insane, but it works.


Vitamin B-6
Posted by Heidi H. (United States) on 10/12/2019
★★★★★

Muscle cramps stop immediately with vitamin B6. I suffered for years, horrible pain. I am so glad that someone told me to try vitamin B6. I buy it at a big box store because it's cheap there and I have it always with me..


Avoid Cortisone Shots
Posted by Harriet C. (Florida, United States) on 10/02/2019

WARNING!

Cortisone shot are not mentioned under remedies, but I would like to post my negative experience for others who have turned to Earthclinic for remedies for leg cramps.

So, perhaps this could make a new category "Cortisone" and entered under "leg cramps" as a warning to others?

All my life I have had leg cramps like the 9th month of pregnancy. I was desperate and that's when I found Earthclinic some years back.

The remedy of taking ACV turned the tide for me. I take extra magnesium when my body tells me it needs it, but 2 Tbsp ACV and about 1/4 tsp baking soda, fill the cup with about 3 oz of cold water and drink while fizzing generally stops the leg cramps in under a minute.

Last year I had a cortisone shot for what we thought was bursitis. It only helped for about 3 weeks (found out via MRI later I had 2 torn tendons causing the pain). However, the cortisone shot was followed by several DAYS of intense, repeated leg/foot cramps, often both legs at once, that simply would not respond to my remedies (Emergenc-E, powdered magnesium in water, and ACV as noted above).

I slept in a recliner so I could hop up easier. My husband had to help me when I would have an attack (one day it was every 30 minutes!). He said he had never seen me this bad (married 35 years)!

Sometimes I drank the ACV straight (ugh!) because I was so desperate--I looked like I was having a lower body seizure even falling to the floor in agony upending the kitchen chair I grabbed in the process.

I NEVER just fall down as I am a chiropractic patient and I can screw my body up if not careful. Through researching I found out that people who are prone to leg cramps sometimes find that this is a side effect.

My doctor had never heard of that as a side effect, but anecdotal information found via search engine was enough for me to support the validity of my experience! Worst week of my life and now my records are noted to never give me anything in the cortisone family again! I hope this anecdotal information is helpful to prevent someone else from suffering like I did!


Simple Exercises
Posted by Mary Beth (Pittsburgh) on 09/20/2019
★★★★☆

Leg Cramp Reliever I have been impressed that this works for leg and feet cramps. I saw this guide in Peggy Brill's book, "The Core Program". She suggests you do these exercises -- all of them -- ten times, before you go to bed. Lie on your back with legs flat, keeping your hands at your sides, palms up. Retract your neck: elongate the back of your neck by tucking your chin down towards your chest. Hold this, holding for six seconds, and then release it. Next, press your shoulders together and down into the mat or bed. Hold and count for six seconds -- and then release. Next, cough to pull your rib cage down. This will contract your abdominal muscles. Hold for six and then release it. Next, tilt your pubic bone, as if toward your navel. Thus, you will flatten your abdominals into the mat or bed. Hold for six and release it. Final exercise (in this set -- because you will do these ten times) -- extend your legs as long as possible while also pressing the backs of the knees into the bed or mat. Flex your feet at the same time. Hold for six and release it. People (like my mom) have serious problems with this pain in the middle of the night. This JUST might HELP!


Magnesium + Potassium
Posted by Alan M. (Oahu) on 04/06/2019
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I swim for exercise. I usually swim 3/4 mile, and I do this several times a week, and have been into this routine for decades. One chronic problem I'd been experiencing is, about half way through my swim I would begin to get slammed with painful cramps in the arches of my feet. I never understood what was causing this problem. But just last year I started experimenting with taking magnesium and potassium supplements, and my foot cramp problem went away and has not returned. I actually tried several different types of magnesium before I finally hit on one that works for me. With dinner I take 400mg of magnesium citrate, and 99mg of potassium chelate.


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Roger B. (Salisbury, NC) on 03/16/2019
★★★★★

My father had really bad leg cramps. These cramps looked like baseballs on his thigh and calves. He would go down on his knees in pure agony. My grandmaw always gave him about 1/4 cup of ACV which he drank immediately. Within 20-30 seconds the cramps dissapated.

Acupressure
Posted by Winnie (Nairobi, Kenya) on 04/18/2019
★★★★★

Dear Robert, Yesterday I had severe cramping on my right leg and I came here looking for a solution. Yours worked instantly! Thank you so much.


Acupressure
Posted by Robert Morris (Durham, NC.) on 03/01/2019
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I learned this leg cramp treatment from a chiropractor in 1977. This works every time. Lift the cramping leg into a horizontal position. Press with the first finger of your right hand directly under your nose, where your nose and upper lip are. Press on the upper lip until the cramp goes away.

Candied Ginger Slices
Posted by Robin (OH) on 10/24/2020 3 posts

I would like to read the specifics of how you made your own lite candied ginger. Thank you.


Bill Thompson's Protocol
Posted by Bill (Philippines) on 10/20/2020
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

Curing Leg Cramps and Numb Feet

Here is a double remedy that has worked quite well for me. I was recently suffering from bad cramps in my legs at night(with a continual uncomfortable feeling muscle 'tightness' in the legs/feet) and I tried taking potassium which didn't work. Then I tried supplementing Magnesium Chloride (MC) at 250 mgs twice a day as Ted recommends and, strangely, that also didn't work. Then, not satisfied, I created a super-saturated solution of Magnesium Chloride (the same as I had supplemented) and that completely cured the leg cramps. To create a supersaturated solution of MC, just keep dissolving the Magnesium Chloride in water until it no longer dissolves -- that's your super-saturated solution of MC. Then directly apply that solution by hand to the cramp areas. Magnesium Chloride is easily and rapidly absorbed by the skin into the blood. Another option for you is just to dissolve the MC in 70% DMSO and just apply that directly to the problem areas for even greater absorption of MC into the blood.

I wasn't using any of the fancy, more expensive forms of Magnesium Chloride like the Zechstein brands, I was just using standard tech grade anhydrous Magnesium Chloride (with no water molecules attached). I'm still not sure why supplementing this form of anhydrous magnesium chloride didn't work for my cramps but it did work when I applied it as a supersaturated solution that is absorbed through the skin into the blood. Still scratching my head on that one.

I also had a numb feeling around both my big toes and around the sole of my foot, which was quite strange. I successfully got rid of that peripheral numbness by adding two tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar + one crushed garlic + a teaspoon of shaved ginger + a little warm/hot water in a glass. Let the infusion sit and express for 5 mins and then drink it all. The cure effect on the numbness in both feet was very rapid. This is an old Amish recipe for numbness at the extremities.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Laura (Florida) on 10/16/2020

Thank you for letting me know about just putting apple cider vinegar on the muscle itself. I have a severe shoulder spasm so I just tried that. I also tried drinking it but the taste is pretty repulsive to me and I started coughing and had a sneezing attack afterwards! I'm hoping this works. Thank you so much for the advice!



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