Spent most of yesterday in the garden trying to repair some fencing, and I guess using a few more muscles than usual.
Came mid-evening, just sitting tapping away on the old PC, I suddenly got an agonising cramp in my right thigh, which made me stand bolt upright - acutely painful!
Rubbed it, tried to straighten it, tried to bend it - the pain just moved, from back of the knee right up to the top of the thigh and back again.
Eventually managed to get shoe and sock off and hobbled outside, putting my foot down on a cold step, and as a result the pain eventually subsided.
Still know abut it this morning though - the thigh feels really knotted up.
What are you supposed to do?
Is the "cold floor" the best/only solution?

Apparently drinking plenty of tonic water helps - quinnine I think? You can also get quinnine tablets, not sure if only on prescription though?

Hope this helps!

relax in a hot bath with radox;)

Apparently drinking plenty of tonic water helps - quinnine I think? You can also get quinnine tablets, not sure if only on prescription though?

Hope this helps!

Cheers, pertfoxylush (FANTASTIC name! Dare I ask?!)
Doubt I could've reached the cellar to get the Xmas '93 tonic water bottle!
What I really meant was what you can do to relieve it when it strikes rather than preventing getting it...
The "foot on cold floor" is a traditional solution, but I think I've read somewhere that it's actually a bad idea!

Worth a try.

Sit down, straighten your leg and point your toe toward your body.

In order to explain what I mean above. If you were to do this in a standing position your heel would only be touching the ground and the front of your feet would be lifted up off the ground. This is best done sitting down so you don't fall over.

Worth a try.

Sit down, straighten your leg and point your toe toward your body.

In order to explain what I mean above. If you were to do this in a standing position your heel would only be touching the ground and the front of your feet would be lifted up off the ground. This is best done sitting down so you don't fall over.

Cheers, John....
Yup, tried that, but it felt as though something behind the knee was going to snap! I used to get cramp a lot (mainly in the calf though) when I was running for the school many years ago and learned your 'trick' for solving that variety, but last night's 'attack' was longer-lasting and particularly painful..
Whether it would've worked for the thigh I don't know....

I have got slight cramp at the moment going from my right hip down my leg. I'm not sure what to do about it.

The best solution I have found is to go for a spa session. Put the lame part of your body against the area that throws out the warm water.
If you can't find a spa nearby in the local leisure centre, you can buy bath spa mats, but I don't know how powerful the pressure is they throw out.

I have also heard that cramp in many cases is due to lack of salt in the diet.
I only ever get cramp in bed when I stretch. I've now learnt to quickly bend my leg when I feel pain coming on, to prevent full cramp.

Cramp can sometimes be caused by dehydration apparently or so I am told.

I know lactic acid causes cramp in the stomach which is due to a lack of oxygen getting to the muscles. The acid then sits in the muscle after exercise hence the cramp, but is this the same for leg cramp?

The proximate cause for any cramp is not enough oxygen being supplied to the muscles; the important thing to work out is what's causing that lack.

Tonic water does contain quinine, which helps to cure malaria - malaria is a disease which causes severe cramping. However, if you don't have malaria, I don't think tonic water is any more or less useful than any other drink for curing the cramp problem.

Dehydration, over-exercise, or spending too long in an awkward position which is constricting blood flow, are the three biggest causes of cramps. If you can eliminate all those and still don't know what is causing it, and if it's happening regularly, it becomes time to discuss it with a doctor.

My guess would be that all that work on the fence was responsible, and that it's unlikely to occur again. If it still feels painful and knotted today, it might be that you've strained the muscle and will need a couple of days' rest to put it right.

Apparently drinking plenty of tonic water helps - quinnine I think? You can also get quinnine tablets, not sure if only on prescription though?

Hope this helps!

Thats spot on advice - my Dad suffers bad with leg cramps so much so he went to the dr's. The Dr advised him to take Quinine tablets and to drink Tonic water. It did help - not cured it but it has helped alot :)

Thats spot on advice - my Dad suffers bad with leg cramps so much so he went to the dr's. The Dr advised him to take Quinine tablets and to drink Tonic water. It did help - not cured it but it has helped alot :)

I suffered from leg cramps for a while and was prescribed quinine. I stopped taking it when I read about the side effects and that it had been banned in the USA and some other countries.

Never knew what caused the cramps but they stopped after a few months.

If you get cramp regularly then Calcium lactate is a good remedy

Ive heard it's a lack of potassium, i eat lots of bananas, they're full of it...:)

Ive heard it's a lack of potassium, i eat lots of bananas, they're full of it...:)

A lack of potassium would cause cramps, but so would a lack of any one of several other things, or a surfeit of exercise.

the guy earlier said it. It's lack of oxygen and it can be brought on by exertion - which is what has happened, in all likelihood, in your case.

Try drinking more liquids - it doesn't need to be tonic water btw - and the amount of quinine in tonic water these-days is next to nothing. It used to be put into Indian Tonic Water for export years ago when troops were suffering from malaria - but now it's just to keep the modern drink vaguely resembling the taste.

Keeping hydrated is the best prevention. If you do get cramp then changing your position (like you did by moving about and putting weight on the affected area) will help. The "cold step" is a bit of an old wive's remedy, the main benefit is movement and change of position. It is worth massaging the affected part vigorously as well as this will increase blood flow and increase blood flow means more oxygen getting to the affected part.

Finally, avoid things which restrict blood flow - like smoking.