What Triggers a Charley Horse?

By Dr. Mercola

A charley horse, or muscle cramp particularly in your calf muscles, is an incredibly common condition that results in your muscles becoming tight, stiff and extremely painful. If you’re an adult, there’s a good chance you’ve had one at some point (and likely multiple points) during your lifetime.

In case you’re a trivia buff and wondering why these muscle cramps are referred to as “Charley horses” (a name that’s primarily used in North America), it’s said to be a tribute to Charley “Old Hoss” Radbourne, an 1880s-era baseball pitcher who often suffered from muscle cramps during games.¹

Another version states the term came from a lame workhorse named Charley who limped around doing various jobs around the baseball park (also in the 1880s).up and put some weight on your foot. Walking around will help to increase blood circulation to your muscles and possibly help to soothe and relax the cramp.

You can also try a simple stretch. If the cramp is in your calf in the back of your lower leg, pull your toes and foot upward until you feel a stretch in the back of your leg. You can also do this sitting down with your legs outstretched. Put a towel around your feet and gently pull both ends toward you until you feel a stretch.

As mentioned, soaking in an Epsom salt bath may also help to relieve pain (and possibly help with prevention). Massaging the area and applying a heat pack, which will increase blood flow to the area, promoting healing and soothing pain, may also help.

Staying well-hydrated is also important for muscle cramp prevention. You’ll want to drink enough pure filtered water so that your urine is pale yellow in color. In addition, performing regular stretching exercises on your legs may help reduce your risk of a charley horse.

Sources and References

• Medical News Today August 10, 2016
• The New York Times
• WebMD

• ^1, 2 History by Zim March 2013
• ^3, 5 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews January 18, 2012
• ⁴ BMC Fam Pract. 2016 Aug 12;17(1):111.
• ^6, 8 Muscle & Nerve October 2005
• ⁷ Medical News Today August 10, 2016
• ⁹ CNN December 31, 2014
• ¹⁰ Greenmedinfo.com December 5, 2012
• ¹¹ Medicine Net September 4, 2014
• ¹² University of Maryland Medical Center, Potassium
• ¹³ Medicine Net Muscle Cramps

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