Home Remedy for leg cramps

[Pygmy]

As I get older, I have more and more problems with leg cramps..Many times I have scrambled out of bed to get weight on a leg to relieve a calf or thigh muscle that has knotted up.

A friend of mine told me to relieve the cramps, swallow a teaspoon full of regular yellow mustard .. I tried it and it WORKS..

I have not used it as a preventative, mostly because I really don't even LIKE the stuff, but it sure works to end the cramps when they have started.

I have since read some stuff online about it.. No one seems to know for sure WHY it works, but it sure does relieve cramps, usually within a couple of minutes after swallowing it.

[Lawdwaz]

As I get older, I have more and more problems with leg cramps..Many times I have scrambled out of bed to get weight on a leg to relieve a calf or thigh muscle that has knotted up.

A friend of mine told me to relieve the cramps, swallow a teaspoon full of regular yellow mustard .. I tried it and it WORKS..

I have not used it as a preventative, mostly because I really don't even LIKE the stuff, but it sure works to end the cramps when they have started.

I have since read some stuff online about it.. No one seems to know for sure WHY it works, but it sure does relieve cramps, usually within a couple of minutes after swallowing it.

 

I'm not too big on yellow mustard but I'd try it ASAP if I had continual bad cramps.

 

Funny thing, during a weekend hunting down in Canadice in November I went to get out of bed around 3am for a johnny break, when I went to swing my left leg down I had about the most awful pain I've ever experienced in my life!  It felt like I tore something in the back of my thigh and it was unbelievable.  I grabbed at my thigh and quickly laid back down, bending my foot towards me and trying to do something.....

 

After about only 30 seconds or so it started to ease up.  It might not seem long but it scared me enough that I was thinking we might have to call 911.  In about a minute I felt confident to try and stand up.  I limped to the john and was just shaking my head, wondering WTH just happened.

 

It must have just been some kind of strange muscle cramp but it sure as heck felt like something tore badly.

 

To this day, occasionally I'll feel a slight twinge in the same place when getting out of bed in the morning.  I've had plenty of calf and foot cramps but the pain I felt in November was unprecedented.

 

Here's to the Weber's Yellow Mustard!! 

 

[virgil]

Quinine.

[The_Field_Ager]

As I get older, I have more and more problems with leg cramps..Many times I have scrambled out of bed to get weight on a leg to relieve a calf or thigh muscle that has knotted up.

A friend of mine told me to relieve the cramps, swallow a teaspoon full of regular yellow mustard .. I tried it and it WORKS..

I have not used it as a preventative, mostly because I really don't even LIKE the stuff, but it sure works to end the cramps when they have started.

I have since read some stuff online about it.. No one seems to know for sure WHY it works, but it sure does relieve cramps, usually within a couple of minutes after swallowing it.

 

 

Could be the potassium and sodium.If either of these are low, cramps can result

Edited March 2, 2015 by Papist

[wildcat junkie]

I have not used it as a preventative, mostly because I really don't even LIKE the stuff, but it sure works to end the cramps when they have started.

 

Supposedly, cramps are a sign of potassium deficiency. Bananas are high in potassium & I've seen them recommended as a preventative measure.

 

If you like bananas it might be worth a shot.

[Pygmy]

I have tried bananas and it didn't help..Perhaps I didn't eat enough of them

[The_Field_Ager]

I have tried bananas and it didn't help..Perhaps I didn't eat enough of them

 

Add pink or blue sea salt to your diet. Contrary to popular opinion, we need a lot of salt and as long as it is not the processed crap, you can have as much of it as you want.

[ants]

I get real bad leg cramps at least twice a week, ever since I had knee surgery two years ago. They are excruciating. I have tried bananas, tonic water  and some other things. Nothing works. I'll give mustard a try...

[virgil]

Ants, your issue may be related to nerve impingement.  That's not uncommon after knee surgery.  Probably has nothing to do with an electrolye issue if it wasn't a problem before surgery.  Surgery can cause scar tissue, which can cause nerve impingements.

[SteveB]

Potassium supplements.

Mine have gone away since starting a low dose of Losartan for bp.

[wooly]

  Surgery can cause scar tissue, which can cause nerve impingements.

 

It (as well as many other things) can also increase your potassium to dangerously high levels to which you should modify your diet accordingly. (Hyperkalemia)

In that case your doctor may advise you to stay away from foods high in potassium which could be causing the muscle cramps in the first place.

Remember your heart is also muscle, and when that baby gets a cramp in it, the doctors refer to that as cardiac arrest.

Talk to your doctor and get some blood work done Pygmy.

This is the LAST place I would come for serious medical advice.

[landtracdeerhunter]

You need more meat on those pataters!

[Pygmy]

Thanks, Wooly...Due to a different existing medical condition, I have a thorough blood work screening at least twice a year.

If I drop dead tomorrow morning, I'll be sure not to blame YOU..<<grin>...

COMING NEXT WEEK : Pygmy's Home Remedy BRAIN SURGERY tips.....

Edited March 2, 2015 by Pygmy

[virgil]

Fair point Wooly, regarding seeking medical advice on this forum.  Although I've never heard of a case involving knee surgery causing hyperkalemia.

[wooly]

Thanks, Wooly...Due to a different existing medical condition, I have a thorough blood work screening at least twice a year.

 

Would that be an erection that lasts longer than 4hrs,lol

 

  Although I've never heard of a case involving knee surgery causing hyperkalemia.

 

Me neither, but my understanding is it can be caused by ANY surgery where scar tissue is involved.

If Pygmy was a big boozer, his liver may be covered in the stuff even if he never had a surgery in his life.

Too many scenarios and hypotheticals to list without argument, that's why I say check with your doctor when things don't seem right.

[stubby68]

        Bananas work good to keep your potassium up. Low potassium causes leg cramps. They only help for future leg cramps, eating a banana when u have a cramp will not make it go away.

 

         My father suffers from real bad leg cramps all the time. He takes potassium pills and a couple other things the DR. has perscribed. None of which really help. He read some where that dill pickle juice helps with a lot of things cramps be one of them. Not being one who believes any of those kinds of things I was suprised when he told me he was trying it. He started eating dill pickles every nite at dinner and drinks a couple ounces of the juice every day. He has been doing this for about a month now. He says it has helped greatly. Does not eliminate the cramps all together but it has lessened the amount of them along with them not being so painfull.

 

       Might just be in his head but he will be the first one to say BS when ever he hears people say things like this work. That makes me think there could be some help in the dill pickle juice. Might be worth a shot. He said it took about 3 days for him to start seeing a difference. My uncly started trying this a couple weeks ago he says it seems to be helping him as well. 

[virgil]

Wooly, I'm not trying to argue or derail the thread.  Yes, alcoholism could cause hyperkalemia.  But not surgery or scar tissue.  Renal disease is the most common cause.

 

Either way, I agree that it's always a good idea to see your doc if something doesn't seem right.

[LI OUTDOORSMAN]

I get them real bad...but not the hamstrings...I get them down the front of my legs..Real bad...like REAL bad..Crawling on the floor crying bad..Especially after walking and sweating alot like during turkey season while "runnin' and gunnin'..I try to limit coffee and alcohol...These will take water out of your system..dehydration seems to bring them on more frequent and more violenty..but they still can happen anytime. I try to eat banannas and water alot while engaged in heavy activity and I've used pickle juice straight out of the jar and quinine water for immediate relief that sometimes helps..I always carry 2 water bottles in my turkey vest.

[Pygmy]

My Doctor told me " You're too FAT !". I said I wanted a second opinion.

He said " Okay..You're UGLY too !"

Rodney Dangerfield

[Elmo]

If you have leg cramps, you need to take remedy A which as a side of effect, raises your potassium to dangerous levels. To solve that, you take remedy B which calm your potassium levels but has a side effect of causing leg cramps.

Just kidding but as I get older, I start to realize scenarios such as these are more and more true.

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[growalot]

You remember my mentioning this same problem...I started taking magnesium, one pill a day ..have not had a cramp since

[Uncle Nicky]

I've been getting them for the last 25 years, I don't think it's age related, more to do with excessive time spent on my feet, or strenuous walking (climbing mountains, deer drives). Not a whole lot that I know you can do about them, but work through the pain when it comes (and it IS brutal). The first dozen times I got them, Mrs wanted to call 911, I told her they weren't coming out for charley-horses, and sorry about screaming like a baby, but they ARE painful. I usually try to drink Gatorade when I sense them coming, that helps a little.

[steve863]

I don't get them often, but I have gotten them.  Usually it's in bed, when I am nice and calm.  For me at least it gets triggered when I sort of try to stretch my leg muscles.  It starts tightening up real fast where any move on my part makes the pain even worse.  So you need to just stay as calm as possible and let the pain (which feels like someone is trying to remove the muscles from inside your leg without using a knife) pass.  The first time or two I got them I didn't know what the hell was happening.  Definitely a crazy feeling.  Surely enough pain to make the sissy types cry out for their mamas!! 

 

 

 

[growalot]

The worst ones I have gotten are the ones that climb into my hip so that the entire side of my body is siezed up..... those I have to say have me begging for death at the moment. It is strange but some things that would ease the pain a bit ...surely only in my mind...would be literally pounding the effected area...and or kicking my legs out to the side...like in a jumping jack movement....or hobbling around the house begging for relief until they subsided...Mr B just started getting them....Wow did he quickly realize I wasn't just being a whiner all these years..eventually I'll feel bad for him..not quite yet...

[Jerryoneill]

I am 72 years old and have had like cramps all my life. I tried every remedy I heard of without benefit. My new doctor recommended taking one magnesium pill per day and I have not had a cramp since.

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