FYI if you ever get leg cramp, completely straighten your leg, and flex your feet upwards, towards your shin. This will stretch your leg muscles and stop the pain almost immediately.
Used to happen to me quite a few times, esp. when being a kid doing lot of sports. Once I was afraid I would drown when getting leg cramp in the pool, but this method saved me.
Were your cramps so strong you could not control your muscles anymore? Asking about the pool thing. I have often had leg cramps and I retained full motor control.
Just stand up. Pain stops as soon as you put weight on the leg.
Calf overpowered me. Now I’m on tippytoes.
For me, that advice is absolutely useless. Now I’m standing, in more pain, that lasts longer.
It’s like if you step on shattered glass shards, the solution to your bleeding foot is to then jump in place. I’m good, thanks.
100%. I tried stretching and massaging before and it kinda worked for me but when I stand on it it immediately stops.
It’s all fun & games until your shin muscles start to cramp as well…
I’ve gotten the Hamstring/quads combo cramp a couple times and falling over, screaming, and not being able to move is an experience.
I was apout to suggest this, I get leg cramps semi often and this tip is a life saver.
When I used to get these, the thing that made them stop immediately was standing up. It seems like the last thing you want to do, but standing up and putting all weight on both legs as soon as I felt one coming always did the trick.
Glad I’m not the only one. This is always a moment of pure terror
Drink more water, that’s my solution
I feel like drinking any more water mill make me become a solution
But on a serious note if you are drinking lots of water but it’s coming out as clear piss and you still feel dehydrated you need more
waterelectrolytesAlso space your drinking out, chugging too much in a small amount of time can kill you from water toxicity or the brain swelling
Edit: corrected dangerous advice to proper advice
It’s got what cramps crave
Also maybe talk to your doctor. Chugging a lot of water constantly and still being thirsty is a potentially a sign of diabetes.
Or just drink a bunch of vodka. That will help you piss.
I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice!
If this happens to you, it’s time to check your electrolytes! Cramping can be a sign of low potassium. Most healthy people should be aiming for 2g+ of potassium per day.
Popularly known food sources of potassium (like banana and avocado) aren’t super great in a pinch. Coconut water, or beverages like Electrolit / Pedialyte, do a better job. For your regular dietary intake, there are lots of foods better than banana and avocado at getting you the potassium you need.
This post brought to you by the fucking awful leg cramps I used to get when eating a low carb diet.
My remedy has always been to eat a banana every once in a while and drink a glass of water before bed.
Bananas aren’t that good of a source of potassium considering how much sugar they also contain. A kiwi has more potassium but also a ton of vitamin c, fiber, and enzymes that improve digestion of proteins. If you want a lot of potassium, a medium potato has twice as much potassium as a banana for a similar amount of calories, but from starch instead of sugar.
There’s always W.H.O. ORS
They also contain a lot of sugar. Sugar improves water intake for rehydration, but that’s not ideal if you’re drinking it often. I’d recommend Nuun tablets instead, which only have 1 gram of sugar.
Potatoes are underrated sources of potassium. One medium potato has 920mg of potassium for 160 kcal.
I just had one last week! Ugh just feeling it tighten until my muscles start tearing is the worst… And then I get to explain why I’m limping at work lol
I get those in my thighs a lot
I came here to comment about how much worse it is in your thigh. Stronger muscles, and you can’t easily stretch it out because of that. I’ve only had that happen a few times and wow is it awful. My sympathies to you.
Yeah its was scary the first couple times. Now just pisses me off because i like to think i keep hydrated and get enough electrolites.
Used to get these like crazy. It can be from certain physical activities, poor diet, dehydration etc. My advice would be drink plenty of water, eat Potassium rich foods (bananas, sweet potatoes) and consider magnesium, either by oral suplement or topical (Epsom salts in bath or a product like theraworx directly applied to calf muscles).
My leg cramps completely stopped after I started using the topical magnesium stuff applied every few days.
Most of the time, leg crams are intentional. Not really worried about the few that are unintentional as long as they go away on their own or can be walked out.
Sackboy ! :D
I miss LBP
Me too :(
I’ve had ones so severe I thought my tendons were going to snap, waking me up in the middle of the night and I’m screaming and doing sympathy whines pleading for mercy. I have genuine fear of the bed time calf and/or foot cramp.
I’ve had a couple like that. My wife went and got some salt and told and told me to eat a pinch of it. It works I swear I could feel it start to relax in less than minute.
Bend your toes toward your face. Hop put of bed and plant your toes on the ground if you have to, then lean forward, push hard. That stretch will instantly unwind the muscle.
Your brain is going to tell you that’s the last thing it wants to do. Ignore it. Stretch.
There, your life is changed.
Or when you twist or stretch too suddenly and feel a little something go snap in your lower back, that’s when you know yer gonna be using Advil for at least a couple of days.
Countering those movements helps me
I get this all the time. Have your foot angle up towards your head. It’ll stop the cramps from happening. Picture standing up and trying to balance on your heels you want that kind of bend at the foot/ankle.
That works. Until you get a cramp in the opposite direction and the same time. It’s the 2nd closest experience to child birth I’ve had. The closest is a cramp stretching from the inside of my foot, up the outside of my thigh, up my back. Nothing but death seems to help.
Me: Salty banana eating hydro homie still in fear of stretching too much in bed which will cause the calf or foot cramp.
Foot cramps are worse. Calf cramp pain lasts for days.
The bending or stretching doesn’t work if you don’t get to it fast enough. There’s only so much bending a muscle so taught Richard Simmons would give it a respectable nod from the afterlife.
