Muscle Cramps Editor's Choice

Calcium for Nighttime Leg Cramps

Mama to Many (TN) on 03/15/2022
5 out of 5 stars

Calcium for Nighttime Leg Cramps

My husband is on his feet a lot at work and is prone to leg cramps at night.

It used to be that if he made sure to have a banana in the evening, he wouldn't get leg cramps.

However, since he started on a plant based diet last summer, we know that his potassium level is actually a little high. (Probably from so many bananas and lentils.) The doctor isn't concerned about the level, but I don't think potassium deficiency is his problem.

I started giving him magnesium before bed. This reduced the cramps at night but did not eliminate them.

Ahah! Suddenly the pieces fit. Plant based diet. No dairy. He is lacking calcium. He started taking a couple of Tums before bed. Voila! Leg cramps stopped.

I ordered some NOW Calcium citrate since Tums is just Calcium carbonate and not the best form of calcium, as far as I understand. The NOW Calcium also has magnesium, D, zinc and manganese. He took them last night and they worked but they are pretty big pills to swallow....

~Mama to Many~

REPLY   5      

Minerals and Eliminating Condensed Tannins for Muscle Cramps

Nancy (CA) on 07/25/2021
5 out of 5 stars

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.

REPLY   6      

Bill Thompson's Protocol to Curing Leg Cramps and Numb Feet

Bill (Philippines) on 10/20/2020
5 out of 5 stars

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.

REPLY   16      



Wintergreen Essential Oil Stops Muscle Spams

Donna (Michigan) on 10/09/2020
5 out of 5 stars

Wintergreen Essential Oil for muscle spasms. I have MS and naturally muscle spasms that go with it. When that happens, I hit it with Wintergreen Essential Oil, which works miracles. In the seldom event that doesn't work...I'll grab my Frankincense EO....that'll work too!
REPLY   7      

Nettle Root Tea for Leg Cramps

Bioh4ck (England) on 06/16/2020
5 out of 5 stars

Having bad leg cramps most of my life, I finally found the solution that works by mistake while drinking nettle ROOT tea for something else.

I started drinking nettle root tea for my low blood iron levels, only to discover it cured my night leg cramps or charlie horse cramps as some call it. I collect the nettle roots from a near by field, wash them, dry in the sun for a few days and then grind them up which is the tough part of the process. I try to find the older nettle roots in big patches because they grow their roots over the ground and not in the ground, so no digging, I collect a big bag full which will last me the year or so. Just make sure to wear gloves and long sleeves so not to get stung when ripping the roots out.

If I go on a long walk, or a hard days work or take a hot bath or sunbath for to long due to the sweating out of minerals, I would get bad cramps in the evening mainly when in bed, so I make sure I drink a cup of nettle root tea. Drop a couple of teaspoons of dried nettle root in a saucepan and boil for 5 to 10 mins. Strain to a mug and drink. Taste is good too.

Works every time for cramps.

REPLY   3      

Alan M. (Oahu) on 04/06/2019
5 out of 5 stars

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.
REPLY   2      

Robert Morris (Durham, NC.) on 03/01/2019
5 out of 5 stars

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.
REPLY   15      

Salt for Muscle Cramps

Cindy (Bay Minette, Al) on 02/26/2017
5 out of 5 stars

My dad suffered for years from horrible leg cramps at night. He was waiting at an appointment one day and started talking to the man next to him. Some how they hit the subject of muscle cramps. He told my dad to keep a shaker of salt on his night table. When he was struck with a cramp, to pour a few grains in his hand and lick it. He tried it and it works. You get an immediate release of the cramp. I have used this through the years and it has never failed me, not once.
REPLY   16      

Apple Cider Vinegar for Muscle Cramps

Adrienne (Idaho) on 11/20/2016
5 out of 5 stars

Hi,

Posted by Passion4film87 (Elgin, Il) on 08/01/2016

I had radiating pain on the entire left side of my mouth from who-knows-what, and not even Aleve - my go-to painkiller - was helping. Then I remembered - apple cider vinegar! I drank about 2oz. of it (like a shot, LOL) and then swished with a mouthful. My pain was instantly gone. Literally instantly. It hasn't been back, about 24 hours later. WOW!

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/home-remedy-toothache-tooth-pain.html#acv

I just wanted to add that I did that, drank a shot of ACV one night when I got a cramp in my foot, and the cramp stopped instantly, before I even finished the ACV! I'm glad to have read your experience because that was so weird I wasn't sure it was the ACV. I'd love to know why that worked. I had a medium intensity cramp in my foot so I got out of bed, hobbled down the hallway to the kitchen and that did nothing for the cramp. Some say walking helps, and I believe that is true, but it didn't affect this cramp. Then, it took some time to get the vinegar out, find something to pour it into, etc. But it stayed the same until I swallowed the vinegar, and I only did that because I had just read about vinegar for cramps, I.e. I had no expectation that it would work at all. It actually startled me, it was like a small miracle!

REPLY   17      

Tonic Water and Epsom Salt Bath for Leg Cramps

Kilee (Ontario, Canada) on 05/09/2014
5 out of 5 stars

Hi all, just a quick post for those who suffer from leg cramps. I used to get them often, mostly at night. My calf muscles would bunch up like baseballs, I would grab my foot and push the heel down and pull the toes upward.it would help if the cramp was just starting.One day, after suffering a really bad one the night before, my sister asked me why I was limping. She gave me a super remedy. Just drink a juice glass of tonic water. It is the quinine in it that does the trick, don't wait till you have the cramp, drink a small glass everyday.

If my muscles hurt from over use, I put a cup of epsom salts in a nice warm bath, pour my tonic water over a couple ice cubes with a squeeze of lime juice and, if it was a rough day, a little dash of gin. Works for me every time. Joking aside, it works because the quinine in the tonic water relaxes the muscles and your body absorbs magnesium from the epsom salts after the warm water opens the pores and soothes the aches. Give it a try (no gin needed) let me know if it works for you as well as it has for me. My sister's Doctor told her about the tonic water cure, the epsom salts is a well known old time remedy, I fine tuned the rest.

Regards to all.

REPLY   8      

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