Posted on 6 Comments

Night Cramps

Every now and then I get these killer leg cramps in my sleep. My calf muscle will tighten so much that I spring to wakefulness. The calf is so tight that you could break a board across it and feels like it wants to rip from my leg. It can hurt so bad as to bring tears to my eyes. The biggest challenge is riding it out without waking others in my bed. I am helpless to voluntarily relax the muscle. The only thing that can be done is grip it firmly, apply pressure and massage. Pointing the toes and relaxing the foot then repeating that motion sometimes helps. The calf will be tender all day.

According to the secondary causes, I appear to be in the late stages of pregnancy.

6 thoughts on “Night Cramps

  1. I had the same problem repeatedly last night. I was able to work it out most of the night but this morning I couldn’t even flex my foot. I woke Matt up who massaged it for me. I guess it’s time to start the stretchs before bed again.

  2. Wonder if it had anything to do with the low pressure system. The storms reached from you to us.

  3. EMB: eat more bananas. When I was competing professionally, I’d eat tons of them in the days before a show or competition so I wouldn’t cramp up.

  4. The leg cramps can result from a last of potassium which is where the bananas come in. They’re the right price, come in a convenient package and make a great snack! Otherwise, when it happens, point your toes forward (plantar flex your foot) to stretch out the muscles.

  5. Umm, don’t you think the cramps have something to do with 4 people sleeping lengthwise and 1 very large dog taking up the entire bottom of the bed?

  6. As a survivor of many of those late-stage pregnancy leg cramps, yes, bananas (potassium) is the answer. And lots of water.

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