Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Charlie Horse

Charlie Horse?
I took a flight from Tampa, FL to Pheonix yesterday and then from there to San Diego. Last night I had charlie horses in both legs at once while I was asleep. I haven't had one in a long long time. Could it be from sitting on the plane so long?
Other - General Health Care - 3 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
That, and possibly because you were dehydrated.
2 :
I do not know. I get the same thing from walking a lot and I call them Charlie Mules.
3 :
Sitting definitely causes part of the problem, but the biggest problem is the air in the aircraft is very dry and causes dehydration. 'Charley-horses' is the first place your body targets when you are dehydrated. Drink lots of water! I recommend purified water and Mineral Water mixed 50/50. The Mineral Water is going to put back into the muscles the minerals they are losing on a daily basis. You must drink beyond your thirst to get the benefits of hydration. I suggest that adults and children drink 40 ounces of water per 100 pounds of body weight every day. Realize that exercise, ambient temperature, and state of health affect the water needs of your body. In the evening take a hot bath with 2c. of dissolved Epsom salts and soak for 30 minutes. Afterwards, if you have something shaped like a cylinder and made out of hard material (think of a large rolling pin you would use for pizza dough or something) place it under your leg and push down and roll it back and forth...this should massage the spasms out of your leg. It will hurt while you're doing it, but more so the type of pain that actually feels good, in the long run. Afterwards massage an analgesic cream into the area. You will start feeling better very quickly. Take 500mg of calcium and magnesium every evening. This will help stop the cramping.

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