Charley Horses - What Causes Them and How Can You Relieve the Pain

Last night, a pain in my leg woke me up instantly. I quickly called it a charley horse and began trying to rub away the pain. The pain was actually in my muscle. I immediately began to wonder is this why I have been craving banana's lately? Do I have some kind of potassium deficiency? This is what I heard as a child as the reason behind Charley horses. After a minute or so the pain eased down some. It was no longer a throbbing pain. It was just an ache. Actually, seven hours later, that muscle area in my leg is a bit tight and achy. For these reasons, I decided to start researching this phenomena called a Charley Horse.

First off, you can get Charley Horses in other parts of your body, although they mainly occur in the leg in your calf muscle area. You can also get them in the arch of your feet and in your thighs.

What happens when you get a Charley Horse? Your muscles actually do tighten up and that is why the pain is so throbbing and feels like your muscles have been tied up in a knot. The best way to stop the pain is to instantly begin stretching out the muscle or massaging it. If you want to massage it, you should always massage or kneed with the muscle. This means if your calf muscle is throbbing you should begin kneading in the area behind your knee and work your way slowly downward, not across.

If you think your Charley Horse came on because of too much exercising or if you were in the middle of some sort of exercise routine when it occurred, you may to stretch the muscle out more. A good way to do this is to stand on your good leg and then grasp the ankle of the throbbing leg. Slowly, raise your leg up behind you toward your buttocks. Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds, if you can. This will allow the muscle to stretch and the pain may subside.

What causes Charley Horses? Sore muscles play a big part in them. But yes a mineral or vitamin deficiency can cause them as well as a hormonal imbalance. There also is a process called calcification (which means that blood gets trapped in a muscle and hardens) that can cause them.

If you have Charley Horses on a regular basis what things may help?

Vitamin E.