About two weeks ago I woke up in the middle of the night with a charlie horse in my calf. I jumped out of bed, walked it off, stretched and massaged it and went back to sleep. Since then I have had a HORRIBLE cramp in my calf. Sometimes it goes away, sometimes it comes back. I've tried icing it, massaging it and these things just give temporary relief. Sometimes it's so bad I can hardly walk.
It gets worse as I exercise and when I do my work out in the morning usually by the end i'm limping pretty badly.
I had a cramp like that a couple months ago. It hung around for two weeks, maybe longer. It really felt like a wound in there that had to heal. I kept doing the heel-down, calf-stretch thing, all the time. I mean, even at my desk at work, while doing other stuff. I tried to eat more foods with potassium & to lower my soidum. Also, I drank seltzer, after someone told me this was particularly good for calf cramps, though that may be folklore. (Flavored seltzer water was on sale a lot then, around the Jewish holidays.) It took some time to go away -- I really think there must have been some kind of injury or a sudden tendency to cramp, with the leg suddenly becoming obsessed with cramping, when it had never given a thought to cramping either way before.
magnesium and potassium have everything to do with cramps. to avoid it, just buy high quality magnesium supplement and eat fruits and vegetables rich in potassium and it will get better soon.
as for the pain you are feeling now, it is possible your muscle got a little strained during the cramp so you may want to rest your leg for a few days.
I have chronic night calf cramps. They also occur rarely during a run, but I've been told that the causes of night cramps can be different than those of exercise induced cramps. As mentioned above, dehydration and potassium deficiency are implicated with both and should be addressed first. I think the seltzer water mentioned above is a reference to using tonic water to control night cramps. Tonic water contains quinine which was once prescribed for night cramps but now is considered "dubious" for this use by the FDA; it also can have side effects at high dosage. I've been desperate enough that I've been drinking "diet" tonic water (8 oz nightly) to try and control my night calf cramps, even if it is voodoo.
Other things I try: monthly professional massage (I wish I could afford it more often) and lots of home massage and stretching. Rarely, I try putting Icy-Hot or a similar cream on my calves before bed; I can't tell if it was helpful but it may be worth a try.
My dad has struggled with this all his life, and I definitely inherited his muscular calves so I'm not sure if it relates to genetics, muscle mass, etc. It's been enough of a problem that I've asked physicians but the advice above is all they've had to offer.
Diet tonic water actually does work for me and leg cramps. I don't drink a lot of it -- just a few ounces -- but my mom's doctor prescribed quinine pills for her for the same thing, because she just can't stand the taste of the stuff. I rather like it, myself.
Thanks everyone, I'll try eating some more potassium rich foods, I eat a lot of avocados right now which are supposed to be high in potasium. I'll definitely try all you guys suggested and hopefully something works!
Bad, Prolonged Cramp in Calf
