Major Calf Cramp

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Michelle2W
Michelle2W Posts: 163 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Had a severe calf cramp several days ago, while I was sleeping! Had me limping for a whole day and still a bit sore now. Could it be from exercising, something lacking in my diet or something else?

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  • mattschwartz01
    mattschwartz01 Posts: 566 Member
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    Funny, but the same thing happened to me. It hurt quite a bit. Drink plenty of water and maybe take a day of rest to let the muscle relax. This is what I did.
  • laserturkey
    laserturkey Posts: 1,680 Member
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    I get those sometimes. In my case, they seem better if I drink lots of water. There was one time that I was prescribed an antibiotic that caused bad foot and leg cramps, too. If it gets worse or you have a lot of cramps repeatedly, you should check with your doctor.
  • Michelle2W
    Michelle2W Posts: 163 Member
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    Thanks! Will do.
  • drvvork
    drvvork Posts: 1,162
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    Check your food logs to see:
    * if you need to get more potassium in your diet.
    * if you are hydrating completely - dehydration will bring on charlie horses like what you described.
    * sodium levels (goes along with dehydration) if high may cause issues.
  • GoAwayBelly
    GoAwayBelly Posts: 8 Member
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    Hi,
    Besides the water that the others recommended, bump up electrolytes. You probably already get a ton of sodium (most people take in too much), so be sure to get some potassium (figs, potatoes, coconut water, bananas, and many fruits/veggies are all good sources) and calcium/magnesium.
  • kahyee
    kahyee Posts: 63
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    I know this may sound strange, but make sure you're getting "enough" salt. I am a low salt, plenty of water kind of girl and suffer from excruciating leg cramps when running to the point of feet going numb. Come to find out I was eliminating a little too much salt from my diet. The flip side though is if you get too much salt, the same thing happens.
  • Michelle2W
    Michelle2W Posts: 163 Member
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    Just checked my food diary from this last week. Sodium levels are high and potassium levels are really low! I'm not even taking in 1/4 of suggested potassium. Going to eat a banana now :-)
  • kristafb
    kristafb Posts: 770 Member
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    I know this may sound strange, but make sure you're getting "enough" salt. I am a low salt, plenty of water kind of girl and suffer from excruciating leg cramps when running to the point of feet going numb. Come to find out I was eliminating a little too much salt from my diet. The flip side though is if you get too much salt, the same thing happens.

    I've had the same problem. I don't add salt to my food & try to keep sodium low and I found that I would get to the evening and not have drank enough water so I would pound back a lot of water before bed and I was waking up with horrible leg cramps that caused leg pain for days. My doctor told me I was flushing too much salt out of my system at night and my body needed it. She also said I was low in potassium and she recommended using a product called Herbamare, which is a salt substitute & high in potassium, its in the spice isle, also to add a bit of regular salt to my diet & pace my water out through the day.
  • janerfitnesspal145
    janerfitnesspal145 Posts: 55 Member
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    Just checked my food diary from this last week. Sodium levels are high and potassium levels are really low! I'm not even taking in 1/4 of suggested potassium. Going to eat a banana now :-)

    MFP defaults to sodium that is too high and potassium that is too low for some people. Recommended amounts if you are in one of these three groups (Have high blood pressure, or are over 50, or are African-American) is 1,500 mg sodium and 4,700 mg potassium. One of the reasons my husband and I joined MFP is that my husband is in all three groups and I knew we were eating too much sodium; didn't even know about the potassium until I did some research. We changed the categories we track to include both sodium and potassium.

    There are a lot of other foods besides bananas that are really good sources of high potassium. Bananas are kinda high in sugar, as are raisins, but raisins are actually super high in potassium. Some really good sources of potassium are potatoes, cantaloupe, honeydew, avocado, almonds, pistachios, kidney/lima/pinto/black-eyed/peas, chick peas (aka garbanzo), and tomatoes.

    Just like sodium, having too much or too little potassium can cause cramps (shows your body is out of balance). My mom was having issues with leg cramps a few years ago and her kidney specialist figured out that she was consuming too much potassium. That's why my husband and I track both, so we can try to stay balanced. Good luck!
  • 7opoundsin16weeks
    7opoundsin16weeks Posts: 211 Member
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    you need more calcium in your diet
  • AmiC0717
    AmiC0717 Posts: 440 Member
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    Seeing this thread triggered a memory for me. Last summer when I started losing weight and was trying to walk and cut out pop, sodium etc etc etc.....I had the same thing happen. It was so painful that my calves would ache during the day too. I wish I knew what it was so I could help you but I don't. I will say that I probably cut out quite a bit of sodium without realizing it at the time so maybe what the others are saying is accurate. I can say those cramps were so painful that I almost gave up walking but I'd wait a day or two and then go back at it again. I feel for you! Do you have a good physician or nurse hotline you can call and ask questions? If it continues you should definitely talk to your doctor if you can. I also used a tennis ball and rolled it around under my feet before bed and then seemed to help too.
  • TheWinman
    TheWinman Posts: 700 Member
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    I get them when I have this certain sex dream about a MFP friend of mine. Happens all the time

    Seriously, low on calcium or taking crestor for high high cholesterol can do that. Drink more water also
  • jrutledge01
    jrutledge01 Posts: 213 Member
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    drink some salt water (gatorade) and eat a banana
  • BuckeyeBabe10
    BuckeyeBabe10 Posts: 204 Member
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    I always get them (when stretching when I wake up or while sleeping) if I haven't drank enough water - mostly dehydration related for me. I rarely get them, so when I do, it's a big indicator that I need to be upping my daily water intake big time.
  • Querian
    Querian Posts: 419 Member
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    Funny, but the same thing happened to me. It hurt quite a bit. Drink plenty of water and maybe take a day of rest to let the muscle relax. This is what I did.
    This.
  • Michelle2W
    Michelle2W Posts: 163 Member
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    I was thinking it was something more dramatic and athletic, like an exercise injury...LOL I definitely need to make some dietary adjustments and drink more water.

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