I've long been bothered by early morning (3 - 4am) foot cramps. My toes would painfully try to curl downward, or upward. The only way to end the cramping was to get out of bed and walk around my bedroom for some minutes. The cramping occurred 4 or 5 times a week. I didn't consult a physician – just figured that it was one of those things I had to live with.

Then, about a month ago, for a reason unrelated to the cramps, I decided that I needed more salt in my diet. A week afterwards, I suddenly realized that the cramping had ended, and I've remained free of cramps for a month now. I have no doubt at all that the salt gets the credit.

Hope that my experience helps someone else.

So, did you need more ions? Or is the salt helping to retain hydration? Both?

What cured them for me was getting custom made orthodontics from Foot Solutions. I haven't had one in years, and I used to have them several times a week.

Good to hear. I had a similar affliction where I would wake up in the night with muscle spasms and cramps.

Like you, I thought it was something I'd have to live with, but my wife mentioned it to my doc and he said "sounds like you need magnesium, take a supplement".

I did and the spasms and cramps went away.

For me, it was poor hydration that was the problem. All I had to do was drink a couple more glasses of water every day and that ended the problem.

Jim

Pickle juice is your friend

Potassium and staying hydrated help mine. I rarely have one if I eat a banana every couple of days and make sure I keep my water intake up.

Take off your shoes, then make fists with your toes in the carpet.

And kill every last one of Gruber's men.

I remember those scenes. I also remember lifting my feets up off the floor.

I get those too from time to time, and so did my mother. They will wake me right out of a sound sleep.

quote:

Originally posted by Todd Huffman:
Potassium and staying hydrated help mine.

Yup. I get foot and leg cramps, especially if there's a draft; there usually is, as my wife likes to sleep with a fan running.

If necessary I get up and take a potassium tablet and drink some Gatorade.

You mentioned bananas. Dates are also a great source of potassium.

quote:

Originally posted by CoolRich59:
Good to hear. I had a similar affliction where I would wake up in the night with muscle spasms and cramps.

Like you, I thought it was something I'd have to live with, but my wife mentioned it to my doc and he said "sounds like you need magnesium, take a supplement".

I did and the spasms and cramps went away.

Son of a gun! I just realized that I began taking a daily magnesium supplement (250 mg) about the same time that I increased my salt (sodium chloride) intake. Again, for an entirely different reason than the cramps. Thanks for that info!

Now I'll have to experiment to see which one is the solution for my foot cramps. Or maybe both… I'll report when I find out.

Edit: On second thought, I think I need both the increased salt intake, and the magnesium supplement, so I won't experiment to determine which gets the credit. But I now suspect that magnesium was the cure.

1. Electrolytes
sodium
calcium
magnesium
potassium
2. Hydration
plain old ordinary non-designer water.

Tonic water w quinine was the cure for many...

+1 on Tonic Water. Quinine is the trick. Back in the day, you could get a prescription for Quinine pills and bam, say good bye to cramps within a couple of minutes. Several years ago they stopped because of some nasty heart side effects. I now use Tonic Water and down a banana when I get a cramp. Usually stops it shortly..

If I get leg cramps, I take magnesium tablets for a few days. Don't have to do it very often.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
Tonic water w quinine was the cure for many...

Pretty sure you'd have to drink quite a bit of tonic water to get a decent dose of that...

quote:

Originally posted by DonDraper:

quote:

Originally posted by downtownv:
Tonic water w quinine was the cure for many...

Pretty sure you'd have to drink quite a bit of tonic water to get a decent dose of that...

Yes, the wise old government also limited the amount of quinine in tonic water so it's no longer tonic. Too low a concentration to have pharmaceutical value.

I have a problem with cramps, too, so I get my quinine sulfate from an overseas pharmacy.

quote:

Originally posted by heisrizn:
Pickle juice is your friend

My brother swears by pickle juice for cramps.

Well damn. Not only do I get leg cramps in the wee hours of the night, my hands cramp up something fierce usually late afternoon. In the afternoon I usually drink at least 5 bottles of water.