How to Stop Charlie Horses (Muscle Spasms)

Leg cramps, often experienced in the calf, are muscle spasms. Often referred to as, "Charley Horses", these cramps (and other muscle spasms) can occur as a result of the muscle's being injured or over-used. A good part of the time, however, they occur as a result of a person's either working out without being adequately hydrated, or as a result of an insufficient amount of potassium and/or calcium in the diet.  Spasms can occur more at night, sometimes because the leg is stretched out, essentially encouraging the spasm.

Increasing fluid intake when working out is, of course, the way to eliminate cramps that result from insufficient hydration. Taking in enough water when working out also helps prevent a number of other problems/injuries to muscles and surrounding tissue.

As someone who has a tendency to (shall we say) "forget" to eat a well balanced diet regularly, I've experienced times when I'll start to get leg cramps and realize it's time to have a glass of milk or two. Since I don't care for milk (although chocolate milk is tolerable) I tend to ignore the first signs of needing more calcium. As a result, the leg and bottom-of-the-foot cramps gets worse (more frequent and more severe). If I continue to "forget" to drink some milk I will then, invariably, begin to even get back "Charley Horses". This is what it often takes before I finally drink a glass of milk a day for about two days. For me, that's enough to make all the "Charley Horses" disappear - like magic.

Since getting too little potassium is another cause of these spasms, someone who is troubled by them should add foods/beverages high in potassium, in addition to calcium. Orange juice and bananas are both good sources of potassium.

Although the above causes of muscle spasms are very common causes, there are other possible causes as well. If adding water during workouts and/or adding foods/drinks rich in calcium and potassium don't eliminate the spasms within a few days, seeing a doctor for further evaluation is, of course, recommended.