Leg cramps

[redneckrn]

Don't know if any of you suffer with night time leg cramps - you know, the kind that literally wake you up from a sound sleep & you find yourself standing up beside the bed just trying to make the pain go away. Yep, me too.
My hubby was having them almost every nite, with NO apparant cause ( not drinking enough fluids, muscle over use, etc.). Went to the doc & tried quinine & a bunch of OTC remedies with no help at all.
Then I happened to see a doc on TV who said he had multiple people email him that the following worked for them.
Unwrap a bar of soap such as Dial or Coast (Dove doesn't work due to the lotion component) & put the soap between the top & bottom sheets of your bed - I put mine about level with the calves of our legs. That's it- leave the soap in place as long as you want.
Folks, I've been an RN for 24+ years, & I've talked with numerous other healthcare professionals & none of us can figure out why this works - but IT DOES. I first tried this about a year ago & we neither one have had even ONE leg cramp since. The way I look at it is this - "can't hurt, might help". I did a search on this on the web to see if anybody else had tried it & found out that many people had the same results as we did. If this can help even one person get rid of that pain- it's worth a bar of soap. I also read that if you start getting cramps again -replace the old bar of soap with a new one. :D

[WileyCoyote]

Weird!

I was told by a country doc that leg cramps were caused by a lack of potassium, so he said either take potassium pills daily or eat bananas. I know that when I stop taking the potassium, the leg cramps come back - HARD.

But soap? Between the sheets? I would REALLY like to know the reason why THAT works!

[AlchemyAcres]

I've had this very same problem.
It was a potassium thing.
Soap??? LOL


~Martin

[annabella1]

Mom put soap between her sheets to stop her leg cramps. She didn't tell me about it. I slept over in her bed. First night I ever woke up with leg cramps. I wont ever put soap in my bed.

[cinok]

Most leg cramps are due to lack of K+, eat a banana or even better eat celery. Leg cramps that are not due to a lack of K+ can be helped by use of lime based soap between the sheets. It is related to biochemical break down of the lime that was in the soap. As crazy as it sounds it does work. :)

cinok's wife

[natures-gal]

Hello,
Potassium has always helped me when I have leg cramps. All our muscles need adequate potassium. :) good for the heart too.
natures-gal
:D

[Katrina-Sisu]

I've heard the soap thing work but I haven't tried it. I agree potassium works really well.

Also if you get a charlie horse the best muscle stretch is to try to point your big toe up towards your knee. It really stretches that muscle.

Kat

[RobJob]

I'm not sure but I think a major component of soap might be potash. Major source of potassium. Yep, just searched it and it's a component of lye and lots of other stuff. Interesting.