What causes charlie horses? And how did they get that name?

[lonestarnot]

My toes keep getting a cramp and then move into a weird ouchie position. Is a lack of potassium in a diet? Lack of oxygen in the blood? or a just a billion other things. They are finally settling down now. I drank a big glass of milk and ate some raisins. :D

[msongs]

1. calf cramps where the heel has to be stretched down to ease it - ouch! nt

[WhiteTara]

2. calcium/magnesium deficiency

which is why your snack helped.

[tabatha]

3. Cocoa has lots of potassium.

Drink unsweetened.

[lonestarnot]

So a hot chocolate made with milk? That work? Mmmm.

:donut:

[tabatha]

12. Yep, but try to get cocoa only

not the commercial hot chocolate.

[tridim]

9. Banana based smoothies, with whole milk and yogurt.

Mmmmmmm...

[littlewolf]

19. Banana's also have lots of Potassium ....

[Whoa_Nelly]

23. Cranberry juice is chock full of potassium

and you an get it in mix flavors, like with raspberry :9

[Sal Minella]

4. Generic potassium supplement caps = really cheap, effective (for me).

I used to get terrible cramps in both legs at night (think drinking too much coffee may flush potassium out of the system?) and no longer have a problem.

[pinto]

5. As far as the term goes, Wikipedia has this -

The term may date back to American slang of the 1880s, possibly from the pitcher Charlie "Old Hoss" Radbourn who is said to have suffered from cramps.<8> Another story mentions a horse named Charley that used to work at Comiskey Park, the Chicago White Sox's baseball stadium. In those days, an old, retired horse was often called "Charlie."

:shrug:

[lonestarnot]

6. Crap, just as I thought. Getting old!

x(

[uppityperson]

7. Dehydration can cause muscle cramps. Drink a bunch of something

Can be a bunch of different reasons. Potassium if you are taking meds that can delete it, eating food insufficient (rare) or have some sort kidney problem perhaps. Dehydration is common since most of us are under-hydrated.

Canned peaches have more potassium than bananas, as does a lot of other food. But for some reason bananas remain the gold standard in fixing muscle cramps. Eating a banana gives you a tiny bit of potassium and a fair bit of water.

Aliens probbed you during the night. You ran a marathon yesterday. Your shoes don't fit. There is a cat sleeping on your foot.

[lonestarnot]

13. Snort

:rofl: Cat on foot.

[PufPuf23]

8. Good question!!!. nt

[tammywammy]

10. I freaked out a boyfriend once due to a leg cramp

I was dead asleep and woke up yelling "owwwww." He was asleep too. Scared the beejezus outta him. He was then sweet enough (well, back then) to rub my calf until I had stretched it out.

Also sleeping with your toes pointed can cause a cramp. Drink more water. :)

[elleng]

21. Happened to husb often, after played ball; VERY loud + distressed.

Rubbed his calf, early and often.

[Versailles]

11. From long ago track lesson...

My coach used to tell us to avoid cramps after runs by eating lots and lots of bananas since they are high in potassium. I don't know how accurate that info is, but since then I've always used bananas to help mitigate muscle cramps...

[tabatha]

15. The problem with bananas

is that they are high-glycemic.

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/food-sources-of-potassium.php

[midnight]

31. Great link....

[spanone]

14. wikipedia

It often occurs in sports when an athlete is struck by an opponent's knee, in a manner like the kick of a horse, perhaps the reason for its name.

[lonestarnot]

17. Ever been kicked by a horse?

Hurts.

[frogmarch]

16. When I get foot cramps I

put my feet in hot water. If I can't walk, I ask someone to bring me hot water in a big bowl. Soaking my feet in the water gets rid of the foot cramps immediately.

I get foot cramps if I wear high heels.

[lonestarnot]

18. You know, I stuck my feet under the covers and warmed them up and they diminished.

Could have been that, the milk or the raisins.

[happyslug]

20. Wikipedia claims a Pitcher from the late 1800s, but I suspect German-English

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_horse

"German-English" is a term used for terms used in North American that are literal translations from German words. For example what we Americans call "Streetcars" are called "Trams" in England and most of the rest of the English speaking world. "Streetcar" is a literal translation into English of the German Word for "Streetcar" i.e Straßenbahnwagen, Straßenbahn (Street) wagen (Wagon or car).

This reflects that fact that (using a 1972 US Census Report, numbers have changed since 1972, for example many whites in the South are now calling themselves "Americans" instead of "English") about just under 25% of the US Population are of German descent, just over 25% is of English descent, 15 % is Irish descent(African Americans about 10%, Hispanic Americans over 10%, 5% other and please note all of these are estimates NOT exact percentages).

The Germans are the Number one minority in all states outside the South and New England (The numbers of English and Germans are close but Germans win the States outside the South and New England, in the South and New England the English win). For this reason a lot of American English are literal translations from German as oppose to proper Translations (i.e. Streetcar from the German road for "Street" and "Car", instead of the proper English term "Tram").

I used the 1972 data for we are talking of the historical source of this term, the Germans were the single largest source of immigration in the 1700s and in the 1800s.

In German, what we Americans call a Charley Horse is called a Pferdekuss i.e. A horse's Kiss. Thus the Horse part of a Charley Horse may be from the German word for a Charley Horse. How Kiss was replaced by Charley is your guess, but that might be how Charley of the Wikipedia page came to be part of the Word.

[lonestarnot]

24. Horse kick!

:kick:

[Sal Minella]

33. Could "pocket-book" for "wallet" also be German-English?

I wonder what charley-horse is in French -- I remember reading about cookies called "petticoat tails" in the U.S. but the original recipe was for "Petite gautailles" (or something like that).

[TlalocW]

22. I heard that the term comes from...

An actual horse named Charlie who was old and had a limp and was used to pull the ... thingamajig that was used at the time to put down the powdered line for a baseball infield. When a player was injured and started limping, he was said to be ol' Charlie Horse.

TlalocW

[lonestarnot]

25. Thank you. Sounds reasonable.

[TlalocW]

26. Sounds reasonable

But who knows. I like to read books about where phrases come from, but I think on a lot of sayings and phrases, the research may be a little sloppy. I like the story though.

TlalocW

[jwirr]

27. I don't know your age but have you had a test for diabetes? My

doctors told me that charlie horses are part of the results. I get them all the time especially at night.

[kestrel91316]

28. Potassium never helps me. I am convinced it is MAGNESIUM, which

is involved at the cellular level in muscle RELAXATION.

Spinach, leafy greens, rinse and repeat.

I have always been prone to leg/foot cramps - some real SCREAMERS at times. You would think I would be more attentive to diet........

[MO_Dem]

32. I think you are right about magnesium!

If I eat spinach regularly, I don't get foot or leg cramps. If I don't eat spinach for a few days, foot and leg cramps always return, especially at night.

[kestrel91316]

34. I started taking a Ca supplement WITH MG again recently.

It seems to make a big difference for me.

I love spinach. I don't know why I don't think to eat it more......

[snagglepuss]

29. Eat dates. Dates trump bananas and most other food for potassium content.

Also a source of protein. Actually a full range of nutrients. Very very healthy.

[Kurovski]

30. Some say mercury can cause it in some instances.