The Mysterious Charley Horse

All in one week I think I've had at least four clients bring up the question of charley horses.  What are they and what causes them exactly, and what can we do to prevent them?

MY question is, where the heck did a muscle spasm get the name "Charley Horse"?

I guess that's not as important though.  Because these guys are PAINFUL, and I guarantee if you're in the midst of one you are NOT thinking, "Hmm, why is this experience called a charley horse, anyway?"

And because they are so painful, I would guess that's why people are asking me what causes them and how to avoid them.  They want to get rid of this problem ASAP!


Charley horses are muscle spasms, and those can occur in any muscle in the body, but most commonly they occur in the legs.  What's happening is the muscle contracts involuntarily and is unable to relax.  Normally they'll either occur during sports or intense exercise, or on the contrary at night while sleeping or just when waking up.  They are generally caused by overuse or injury, or dehydration.  They can also come from not having enough minerals in your body like potassium or calcium.  Another cause could be irritation in the nerve that connects to the muscle.  Remember my post about chiropractic care?  That can explain how to avoid nerve interference.

So what can you do about them?  Massage is a good option, and if it occurs in the calf then gently rubbing from behind the knee and down towards the foot can help encourage the muscle to relax.  Applying heat to the muscle helps as well, as warming the muscle fibers helps them to soften and loosen up.  If you seem to be prone to them lately, try soaking in a bath of Epsom salts regularly.  Cutting back on alcohol, coffee, or caffeine intake may help as well, as these are diuretics and can dehydrate you.

Be sure to get in some good stretches before and after any kind of exercise, and also before going to bed and upon waking in the morning.  Drink plenty of water (one good way to know how much water to drink is to consume, in ounces, half your body weight in pounds - for example if you're 150lbs, drink 75oz of water), especially when it's hot outside or if you're sweating a lot such as during exercise.  You may also want to look into a good potassium or calcium supplement (preferably from a whole foods source but definitely non-synthetic), and Vitamin E is also a good helper when it comes to healthy muscles (but this vitamin is HIGHLY important to take in whole food form as the synthetic version of vitamin E has been linked to cancer).

As for the term Charley Horse, it possibly comes from American slang from the 1880s and the pitcher Charlie Radbourn (aka "Old Hoss") who supposedly suffered from cramps.  We're not the only ones with weird names for these cramps though - in the UK they're called a "dead leg", in Australia they're called a "corky", in Norway they're called "thigh hens", Israel and Finland call them "wooden legs", and Italy has all kinds of names for them like "old woman" (nice) in the northwest, "donkey's bite" in the south, or even a "water buffalo" in central areas.  I guess "Charley Horse" isn't alone in its weirdness...

Reminds me of Lamb Chop's Play-Along though...

Happy stretching!



http://www.healthyanswers.com/general-health/2008/03/hold-your-charley-horses/
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002066.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_horse