Though painful, Charley horse not serious

I shared a room with my younger sister when we were in our early teens. Every now and then she would wake me out of a dead sleep due to a leg cramp or Charley horse. I'd massage her calf until it subsided.

I've noticed over the last few months that I've had several of them, which I usually manage to catch before they become unbearable. Moving the foot back and forth has seemed to help, along with pointing the toe. It hurts.

There are different versions of how the phrase "Charley horse" was coined. Some say it involved a horse with a cramp. Some say a baseball player with a cramp.

According to WritingExplained.org, Charley horse is a North American colloquial name for a muscle cramp in the leg. It is sometimes written with a lower case 'c,' and sometimes spelled charlie.

Through all my looking, it doesn't seem like anyone really knows the true origin or spelling. I'm going with Charley.

I realize I know nothing about them, except the pain, so I figured I'd investigate.

I did research and found two sites with good information. Healthline (healthline.com) is a consumer health information site with the oversight of doctors, nurses and others in the medical field. The other is Medline Plus (medlineplus.gov), a site run by the National Institutes of Health and U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Both sites agree, a Charley horse is the common name for a muscle spasm or cramp. They can occur in any muscle, but often in the leg. When a muscle spasms, it contracts without your control and does not relax. It becomes tight, and is often described as a knot.

They can result in muscle soreness that can last for a few hours. It's normal, as long as the pain isn't prolonged or recurring. The spasms are generally treatable at home and can sometimes be linked to to underlying health conditions that might need attention.

Normally, I'd ignore them, but being a bit older and having diabetes, I need to be informed.

There are several factors that can cause a Charley horse:

• Inadequate blood flow to the muscle

• Muscle injuries

• Exercising in excessive heat or cold

• Overuse of a specific muscle during exercise

• Nerve compression in the spine

• Exercising when dehydrated, or having low levels of minerals such as potassium, sodium or calcium

Spasms occur because the nerve that connects to a muscle is irritated, for whatever reason.

A Charley horse can happen to anyone, at any time of the day and night. They tend to occur most to athletes, infants, older adults, those who are overweight, people who smoke and those taking medications such as diuretics or statin drugs.

Overweight people experience them due to bad circulation. Athletes get them because of muscle fatigue or overuse.

The occasional Charley horse does not require an official medical diagnosis. Your doctor should investigate frequent, recurrent muscles spasms that happen more than once a week without a glaring reason. A diagnosis can be made using medical history and a physical exam.

MRI scans can help determine if nerve compression is the cause, and lab work can check for low levels of sodium, potassium and calcium.

Treatment depends on the cause. If the spasm is exercise induced, stretches and massage can work. Heating pads help the spasm relax, and ice packs help numb the pain if it is sore. A doctor might recommend an anti-inflammatory such as ibuprofen for pain.

In severe cases, antispasmodic medication can be prescribed and physical therapy can train the sufferer to cope. Extreme cases may involve surgery.

Since dehydration can cause so many problems, they recommending drinking water or sports drinks. But, they say, water alone is not enough. Salt tablets and sports drinks will help replace minerals in your body.

When exercising, stretch to improve flexibility, change your workouts and exercise within your ability.

If the spasms become severe, you have weakness or the spasm spreads to other parts of the body, consult your doctor

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ActiveStyle on 07/15/2019

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