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boop

For good measure he makes me stick my tongue out.

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From over the pond....

A charley horse is a sudden, involuntary cramp in a muscle, especially in the leg or arm. It is painful, and may take several weeks to heal. This informal name for a severe muscle strain or sprain is most often used in connection with athletes, especially baseball players.

The phrase first appeared in the 1880s. No one knows the exact origin but there are two fairly popular theories. The first, which is probably not true, relates the phrase to a race horse named Charley or Charlie who was allegedly lamed by the affliction.

A more likely story is that the phrase referred to a baseball player named Charley Radbourne who fell prey to a muscle cramp during a game in 1880. Radbourne's nickname was "Old Hoss."

Almost everyone has experienced a muscle cramp, I know I have. The muscle becomes contracted and rigid, and is usually quite painful. The contracted muscle gets locked into a self-sustaining knot, which can last for hours or days. OUCH!!

Many muscle cramps are associated with exercise. These cramps are often due to a depletion or imbalance of salts in the muscle tissue, especially calcium, sodium, and potassium, which are lost in our sweat. A buildup of lactic acid, one of the byproducts of heavy exercise, also can contribute to the cramping. Such cramps can often be relieved by drinking "electrolyte" drinks that restore the salt balance.

If you get a cramp, it may be helpful to move the muscle into its least extended (shortest) position and massage it very gently. Eat something with sodium and potassium (like a banana) and wait for the cramp to ease.

I too have restless legs, and have found upon some research that they are also often associated with electrolyte imbalances. Give some of those "electrolyte" drinks a shot- most sports drinks do the trick. My personal favorite is Cytomax.

Also, nobody's mentioning quinine as relief for specifically nocturnal leg cramps. The stuff works wonders- I used to suffer from bad ones when I was younger. You can buy it in pill form at the pharmacy. Or you can get it in liquid form in a nice gin & tonic. Well, you COULD I suppose get it in just tonic water, but the former is a tad more fun.

Which brings me to a final, though off-topic, thought. I'm pretty active in endurance sports, and spend a lot of time training. I'm no pro, though, and I don't necessarily fit my lifestyle around that training. So, every now and then, I might have a drink or several while out the night before an important race or training event. The absolute best "cure" I've found, for a hangover either mild or severe, is to take an aspirin before bed, and keeping a bottle of the afore-mentioned Cytomax by the bedside, to suck down as much as possible thru-out the night. Works wonders, rehydrating you and restoring electrolytes. It's really amazing!

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Karin
Twins in Training!