This fixes it instantly every time for me. Ignore everybody else. When you get that cramp start moving your foot in the opposite direction pointing your toes towards your knee and stretch out the back of your ankle. Instant cramp relief everytime.
If you have cramping often like this then maybe dedicate yourself to some hamstring stretches.
Standing up works every time for me. If I want to remain in bed i try to push the bottom of my foot into the bed as if I were standing on it. It often does the job .
This trick has become a reflex for me, to the point where I barely even wake up when I get a Charlie horse in the middle of the night, since I start flexing my foot automatically when I feel it coming on.
Similar trick I learned, just get out of bed and stand up on it. It'll go away in ~10 seconds and then you can hop back into bed. Works pretty much every time.
You need to get up quick because it will be harder the longer it lasts. Once standing firmly on the ground, lean slightly forwards to shift most of the weight to the front of the foot. It never failed to help me.
I only cramp when underhydrated and most people are underhydrated (Drewnowski, 2013).
Make sure we're all getting enough water before taking further action!
References
Drewnowski, A., Rehm, C.D. & Constant, F. Water and beverage consumption among adults in the United States: cross-sectional study using data from NHANES 2005–2010. BMC Public Health13, 1068 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1068
Yes, there absolutely can be a lot of weird reasons your bike is not handling properly. But it's important to make sure of the basics first: that the tires have air in them.
it happens to me so infrequently that i don't usually catch on to what's happening until it's too late 😅.
basically ruins my whole week every time. makes me paranoid it'll happen again any second. then it doesn't. then i forget. then i relax. then it gets me...
I find it's more common when Im Out of shape but that doesn't mean it doesn't still happen. It's so weird cuz it can happen on my sleep and I usually freak out and literally jump awake only to hyper fixate of the leg trying to prevent the tension from maxing out. Man it's crazy how painful doing nothing can be
That can trigger the muscle to contract even more, making the cramp worse. The thing to do is to contract the muscle group opposite of the muscle that is contracting, which forces the cramping muscle to relax. So for a calf cramp, try to raise your foot using the muscles on your shin.
No, I gave different advice. Contracting your shin muscles doesn't relieve the calf cramp because it stretches the calf muscle. Contracting your shin muscles sends a signal to your calf muscles to relax. This is how your body prevents opposing muscle groups from contracting at the same time.
I too think it's magnesium, but what I can actually confirm is that I haven't had this since I started taking multivitamins. Y'all are vitamin deficient.
interesting, i used to have a lot of cramps until i started taking specifically magnesium supplements a few years ago. then again, last year i switched out the salt i use for one with more potassium chloride in it so i can't really do a comparison.
Magnesium is definitely a part of the conversation. It helps neurofunction and muscle signaling, along with cell metabolism. It helps quite a few processes in the body. I wish I remembered more of the processes specifically so I could be more accurate! Most electrolytes have some very important roles, including calcium far beyond building strong bones.
One of many reasons I take multivitamins! Difficult to be too low on most anything that way. ... and it supplements my poor diet choices...
From the moment I understood the weakness of my carbon, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of magnesium. I aspired to the purity of the blessed Mg. Their kind cling to their flesh, as if it will not cramp and fail them.
When I used to swim we'd be told to just swim it off. Calf, foot, right above the knee were all things you could kinda dead leg and use the flip turn to unkink, but now and then you'd get a hamstring cramp and that's when you just sink and stretch. There is no negotiating with a hamstring cramp.
I used to suffer from them regularly as a kid. Just drink water. Thats it, nothing magica... maybe it's the magnesium as another poster said. But honestly I have never had one since I changed my life and joined the hydro homies.
Yeah foot inner arch begins to scream out of nowhere while relaxing, happens once or twice a year since always. Skips a year sometimes. Thanks for others' advice that's been posted.
91 Comments
Xenny@lemmy.world · 75 pts · 138d
This fixes it instantly every time for me. Ignore everybody else. When you get that cramp start moving your foot in the opposite direction pointing your toes towards your knee and stretch out the back of your ankle. Instant cramp relief everytime.
If you have cramping often like this then maybe dedicate yourself to some hamstring stretches.
Levsgetso@lemmy.zip · 40 pts · 138d
I once tried it and got a second more agonising cramp
Xenny@lemmy.world · 14 pts · 138d
That's fair. Everybody's body is a bit different I suppose. I would totally be doing more stretches in your case though.
Levsgetso@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 137d
Yeah, I’ve neglected physical health too much recently
MML@sh.itjust.works · 1 pts · 137d
So like one a day?
FishFace@piefed.social · 8 pts · 138d
I find this happens to me if I panic and do the stretch too quickly. But if I do it at fast but measured pace it works every time.
My dad told be the trick at a time when I was getting night cramps often and it changed my life
Levsgetso@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 137d
It could be that. I did it very slowly so idk, at least I woke up
phenomdeez@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 138d
Boof magnesium
Remorhaz@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 138d
Quinine, there’s still some tonic waters that have it, and even in the very low dose that they use it’ll work preventatively for a few weeks
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 138d
no boof sodium
realitista@lemmus.org · 8 pts · 138d
Standing up works every time for me. If I want to remain in bed i try to push the bottom of my foot into the bed as if I were standing on it. It often does the job .
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works · 5 pts · 138d
yeah that's what I do. The method described above you is what causes my cramps sometimes
realitista@lemmus.org · 3 pts · 138d
Yeah I haven't had good luck with that either.
Signtist@bookwyr.me · 4 pts · 138d
This trick has become a reflex for me, to the point where I barely even wake up when I get a Charlie horse in the middle of the night, since I start flexing my foot automatically when I feel it coming on.
Flaco_waton@feddit.cl · 4 pts · 137d
This is how you fix a cramp scuba diving - grab the tips of your fins and pull up. Same effect. Works for me too.
wewbull@feddit.uk · 0 pts · 137d
...and learn better finning technique.
Furbag@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 137d
Similar trick I learned, just get out of bed and stand up on it. It'll go away in ~10 seconds and then you can hop back into bed. Works pretty much every time.
SorryQuick@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 137d
Alternatively, start eating properly and solve the problem at its root.
ieGod@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 137d
Foam rolling + active release works better than pure stretching IMO. Also be sure to get your micronutrients in.
Edit: I should clarify this is intended for maintenance, not in the moment relief of the cramp.
Dirk@lemmy.ml · 48 pts · 138d
Stand up as fast as possible and put your weight on that leg.
real_squids@sopuli.xyz · 37 pts · 138d
Physically pulling your toes back (up and towards the heel) usually works for me
dalekcaan@feddit.nl · 7 pts · 138d
Yeah usually stretching my calf as I feel it happening works. Otherwise I feel it all day.
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 138d
Now I'm in more pain, angry, and crying (in pain).
Dirk@lemmy.ml · 1 pts · 137d
You need to get up quick because it will be harder the longer it lasts. Once standing firmly on the ground, lean slightly forwards to shift most of the weight to the front of the foot. It never failed to help me.
Mac@mander.xyz · 33 pts · 138d
I only cramp when underhydrated and most people are underhydrated (Drewnowski, 2013).
Make sure we're all getting enough water before taking further action!
References
Drewnowski, A., Rehm, C.D. & Constant, F. Water and beverage consumption among adults in the United States: cross-sectional study using data from NHANES 2005–2010. BMC Public Health 13, 1068 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1068
MoffKalast@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 138d
Hydration certainly helps but can also be magnesium deficiency, since it's a muscle relaxant.
SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 138d
or a potassium deficiency.
MoffKalast@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 137d
🍌
Mac@mander.xyz · 1 pts · 137d
Yes, there absolutely can be a lot of weird reasons your bike is not handling properly. But it's important to make sure of the basics first: that the tires have air in them.
Notyou@sopuli.xyz · 26 pts · 137d
Jerkface@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 137d
It's a liopleurodon! A magical liopleurodon!
ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one · 3 pts · 137d
BLUE UNICORN
PINK UNICORN
(Charlie wakes up and looks at the two)
CHARLIE THE UNICORN {Groans}
BLUE UNICORN
PINK UNICORN
BLUE UNICORN
CHARLIE THE UNICORN
(Blue unicorn flips onto Charlie's back and starts bouncing on him)
BLUE UNICORN {Jumping onto Charlie's back}
PINK UNICORN
CHARLIE THE UNICORN
BLUE UNICORN {Still jumping up and down on Charlie}
PINK UNICORN
CHARLIE THE UNICORN
Linken@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 137d
"Toes to noes!" Stretching your foot upward helps prevent it.
P1k1e@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 137d
Oh God, thank you so much for this
thedirtyknapkin@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 137d
you basically just want to stretch whichever muscle is seizing up. if it's your calf you want to pull on your toes.
P1k1e@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 137d
I usually just try and relax it before the cramp hits critical mass. Stretching is always a "it's stuck" response
thedirtyknapkin@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 137d
it happens to me so infrequently that i don't usually catch on to what's happening until it's too late 😅.
basically ruins my whole week every time. makes me paranoid it'll happen again any second. then it doesn't. then i forget. then i relax. then it gets me...
P1k1e@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 137d
I find it's more common when Im Out of shape but that doesn't mean it doesn't still happen. It's so weird cuz it can happen on my sleep and I usually freak out and literally jump awake only to hyper fixate of the leg trying to prevent the tension from maxing out. Man it's crazy how painful doing nothing can be
ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 137d
That can trigger the muscle to contract even more, making the cramp worse. The thing to do is to contract the muscle group opposite of the muscle that is contracting, which forces the cramping muscle to relax. So for a calf cramp, try to raise your foot using the muscles on your shin.
wewbull@feddit.uk · 3 pts · 137d
You just gave the same advice.
ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 137d
No, I gave different advice. Contracting your shin muscles doesn't relieve the calf cramp because it stretches the calf muscle. Contracting your shin muscles sends a signal to your calf muscles to relax. This is how your body prevents opposing muscle groups from contracting at the same time.
motruck@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 137d
This is the way.
grrgyle@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 137d
My strategy of pulling on my big toe has been working pretty well
WanderWisley@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 138d
WE ARE CHARLIE HORSE!
Jamablaya@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 137d
You're dehydrated
Gork@sopuli.xyz · 5 pts · 137d
Is that what that means? I never knew and just grunted at the pain.
Uranus_Hz@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 137d
Ya, apparently “dehydrated” is some new word for “thirsty”.
And now “thirsty” means something totally different.
Jamablaya@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 137d
yes
lime@feddit.nu · 9 pts · 138d
magnesium prevents cramps.
tormeh@discuss.tchncs.de · 7 pts · 138d
I too think it's magnesium, but what I can actually confirm is that I haven't had this since I started taking multivitamins. Y'all are vitamin deficient.
Iheartcheese@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 138d
Your face is vitamin deficient.
LurkingLuddite@piefed.social · 4 pts · 138d
Moreso potassium. Cramps are even often cited as a direct symptom of hypokalemia.
lime@feddit.nu · 2 pts · 138d
interesting, i used to have a lot of cramps until i started taking specifically magnesium supplements a few years ago. then again, last year i switched out the salt i use for one with more potassium chloride in it so i can't really do a comparison.
LurkingLuddite@piefed.social · 1 pts · 137d
Magnesium is definitely a part of the conversation. It helps neurofunction and muscle signaling, along with cell metabolism. It helps quite a few processes in the body. I wish I remembered more of the processes specifically so I could be more accurate! Most electrolytes have some very important roles, including calcium far beyond building strong bones.
One of many reasons I take multivitamins! Difficult to be too low on most anything that way. ... and it supplements my poor diet choices...
lime@feddit.nu · 1 pts · 137d
that's my thought as well, the pills make me invincible
Sam_Bass@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 137d
You need a little Magnesium
Agent641@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 137d
I need a big magnesium
Sam_Bass@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 137d
I wouldn't take more than 600mg at once
Agent641@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 137d
Of course you wouldn't, coward. That's how you unlock wolverine skeleton.
Uranus_Hz@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 137d
I can never remember if it’s magnesium or potassium.
dukatos@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 138d
400mg of Mg daily fixes this.
rmuk@feddit.uk · 13 pts · 138d
400 milligrams of milligrams/day. Got it. I'll mix that in with my extra milk per milk.
Ziglin@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 138d
It would be milligrams of megagrams per day.
dukatos@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 138d
Ah yes, Windows case insensitive users
v4ld1z@lemmy.zip · 12 pts · 138d
Time to become a magnesium-based life form
MoffKalast@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 138d
From the moment I understood the weakness of my carbon, it disgusted me. I craved the strength and certainty of magnesium. I aspired to the purity of the blessed Mg. Their kind cling to their flesh, as if it will not cramp and fail them.
realitista@lemmus.org · 1 pts · 138d
Not for me unfortunately
dukatos@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 138d
Try different types. Or a mix, like this
realitista@lemmus.org · 1 pts · 138d
yes, have done all the above
dukatos@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 138d
Check your blood then. Maybe you have an iron deficit / anemia.
realitista@lemmus.org · 3 pts · 138d
I've had it all checked and redo it all once a year. No deficiencies.
dukatos@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 138d
You are a professional driver then 😀
realitista@lemmus.org · 3 pts · 138d
I think I'm just getting old and walk a lot without enough stretching. If I stretch every day I don't have the problem .
Archangel1313@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 138d
I challenge you to simply sit there and watch your toes curl. It actually stops hurting if you can just relax and let it happen.
SpruceBringsteen@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 138d
When I used to swim we'd be told to just swim it off. Calf, foot, right above the knee were all things you could kinda dead leg and use the flip turn to unkink, but now and then you'd get a hamstring cramp and that's when you just sink and stretch. There is no negotiating with a hamstring cramp.
Bill@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 137d
I used to suffer from them regularly as a kid. Just drink water. Thats it, nothing magica... maybe it's the magnesium as another poster said. But honestly I have never had one since I changed my life and joined the hydro homies.
Digit@lemmy.wtf · 6 pts · 137d
Charlie's not been around for a long time... Since I tripled my magnesium bisglycinate dose (spread out through the day), along with other minerals.
Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml · 5 pts · 137d
That's not just me?!? I have to IMMEDIATELY jump out of bed and stand up and rub my calf or the pain is going to intense.
samus12345@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 137d
The best way to take care of an unwanted Charlie is to shoot it in the neck.
YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 137d
I feel seen.
pathwonder@kopitalk.net · 3 pts · 138d
How about when abs cramp? Oh how I beg for mercy.
affenlehrer@feddit.org · 2 pts · 138d
Horrible, first time I got one I wondered if it's a heart attack, aneurysm or if I got hit by a bullet or something...
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 138d
I contend tongue is worse
Agent641@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 137d
Stretching helps. Try to touch your toes every morning. If you can't reach them, ask someone else to touch your toes for you.
Uranus_Hz@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 137d
OMG. Genius life hack. Never even thought of having someone else touch my toes.
unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz · 3 pts · 138d
Yeah foot inner arch begins to scream out of nowhere while relaxing, happens once or twice a year since always. Skips a year sometimes. Thanks for others' advice that's been posted.
kieron115@startrek.website · 3 pts · 138d
Hydrate!
Adulated_Aspersion@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 137d
.....drink some water folks.
MyBrainHurts@piefed.ca · 2 pts · 138d
Me everytime my calf muscle does anything that is any way unexpected: Please Jesus no, please!
OriginEnergySux@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 138d
GreenKnight23@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 138d
edit: it's charlie horse from lamb chop
mushroomman_toad@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 138d
Chaaarliee
sad_detective_man@sopuli.xyz · 1 pts · 138d