Cramps are one of the most dangerous yet curable health conditions. It is not that severe or serious, but the pain from cramps is very serious.
You all might have been surprised. Because the article is on Charley Horse Syndrome, I started with cramps.
The reality is that Charlie’s horse disease actually means muscle cramps.
Nobody exactly knows where this name came from, but it has some references.
Let’s find out the references:
- The history behind the name:
- As I have told you before, nobody knows why muscle spasm gets the name “Charley Horse Disease, but we can assume, though the source of the name is not confirmed, that using the term “Charley Horse” to describe a muscle cramp comes from informal American sporting talk dating back to the 1880s.
- There is also another theory about it. It is said that the name came from a baseball player who talked about a horse who was lame. Back then, horses were used in baseball games as groundskeepers.
- Another theory shows that this name came from a former baseball pitcher named Charley, who had muscle spasms during the 1880 game.
So, these are some reasons or theories about the name “Charley Horse Disease.” Though I mentioned baseball, in reality, it is not related to baseball. Muscle spasms can happen to anyone, anytime.
Muscle spasm is really a bad situation. In this situation, people sometimes can’t move.
Let’s take a look at what Charlie Horse Disease is.
- What is Charley’s horse disease? A brief idea of Charley horse disease Definition of Charley horse disease?
Charley horse disease is a critical health problem where you feel a strong and painful cram on your muscles, especially on your calfs. It mostly occurs at night and during exercise.
- 10 facts about Charley Horse Syndrome:
- Cramps or Charley horse disease can happen anytime, anywhere.
- It can happen regardless of your age.
- It occurs more at night.
- It can be the cause of disturbed sleep.
- After exercising, it can occur.
- If you are obese or fatty, then you can also experience these problems a lot.
- Other than the calfs of your legs, you can feel it in your feet and thighs.
- According to doctors, there is no specific reason for cramps.
- Cramps can be stopped immediately, or they can make you suffer for 10 days.
- Pregnant women and senior citizens experienced it more.
I hope you find these facts useful.
So, we get a brief idea of Charlie Horse Syndrome.
Before going to other segments, let me allow you to share my real-life late-night cramping story with you guys.
When I was 12 years old, I experienced my first leg cramping.
It was a fine day, and I was about to wake up from my sleep. I moved my body and my legs slowly. After some time, I simply opened my eyes and was just about to throw my legs off my bed.
Everything was normal until now, when I felt a sudden pin in my leg’s calf. I did not understand what was happening. I felt a sharp, yet unknown, pain. I could not move my leg at that time.
After 2 minutes, I realised I could not fold my leg. Then I normally firmly patted the calf from upward to downward with force, and after some time, the cramp was gone.
I was a teenager then, and I did not know about muscle spasms and all that, so I told my mother about this, and she told me that it is quite normal for seniors.
But I was a teenager then, so my family took me to the doctor’s chamber, where he found out that, due to excessive exercising, I experienced cramps in my leg.
So, this is my real-life experience that I experienced when I was in 7th grade. Although I don’t know how my story will help you, let me give you some advice: if you ever experience a muscle cramp, always try to consult your doctor first. Only they can give you the best advice.
Let’s talk about the causes:
- Causes of Charley Horse Disease:
- Nocturnal events can happen due to daytime activity. For example, if you do a lot of workouts in the daytime, you are most likely to experience cramps at night.
- Electrolyte imbalances can lead to muscle spasms.
- If you are obese or healthy, then you can experience leg cramps.
- Due to poor blood flow distribution in your body, you can experience Charlie’s horse disease.
- It is common to experience leg cramps due to dehydration.
- During pregnancy, you can also experience cramps.
- Leg cramps can happen due to certain medications.
So, these are some causes of Charlie Horse Disease.
Now let’s talk about the symptoms:
- Symptoms of Charley horse disease?
You will suddenly feel a strong muscle tightening in your legs. Cramps can stay for 1 to 10 minutes. It can be extremely painful or less painful.
Let’s discuss treatment:
- Treatment of leg cramps:
Doctors cannot know the exact reason for cramps. It has some medicines, but it is difficult to say how much they will cure your pain.
But there is a homemade method to cure cramps:
- Gently stretch out the muscle by standing or moving the limb or foot.
- Firmly but gently pull the toes and the foot upward to the front of the leg.
- Repeat these movements until the cramping eases and stops.
Let’s talk about some dietary supplements for leg cramps.
- CHARLEY HORSE DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS
- Potassium
- Chloride
- Electrolytes
- Zinc
- Magnesium
- Calcium
- DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid.
- B1 vitamin.
These are not the exact supplement names, but if you consume the above-mentioned vitamin-mineral-rich supplements, it will work for your leg cramps.
I hope you find this article informative.