What are your best, quick remedies, for middle of the night leg cramps?

My current go to is mustard, seems to work quicker than anything else at night.

There is a pill that comes in a small bottle, called Leg Cramp, that dissolves under your tongue that works well also. 

 

Mine are more back related than hydration, so a good ol' fashioned calf stretch usually does the trick for me.

Drink more water, light exercise, stretch. 

13 minutes ago, theguru said:

Drink more water, light exercise, stretch. 

I get that's how to prevent them...lol.

But once they hit, how is the quickest way to stop them. 

 If the cramp is in my calf, no problem just stand up and stretch and it goes away. It is those shin cramps that stretching doesn't relieve that sometimes cause problems.

I honestly don't get them often, but after walking a lot yesterday...they hit hard last night. 

Go get you some Theraworx. It's about 20 bucks a bottle. We'd be have paid 100 for it all day long. 

It almost seems unreal how fast it works. It seems impossible. My son had severe cramps during football due to a variety of reasons. Would completely shut him down for long periods of time. Found this, put on a little foam and rub it in, almost instant results. It saved our whole football team a lot of lost time. 

It works for any type of cramp anywhere. We've  never seen anyone it didn't work for yet. 

For preventing, put a bar of soap under your sheets at the bottom of the bed.  My aunt told me about it when she worked at St. E.  I thought she was crazy, but I deal with them a lot, so figured I would give it a try.  I have yet to have a cramp with the bar of soap in the bed.  I only get them when sleeping on the couch or when the bar gets knocked off the bed.

3 hours ago, nees1212 said:

For preventing, put a bar of soap under your sheets at the bottom of the bed.  My aunt told me about it when she worked at St. E.  I thought she was crazy, but I deal with them a lot, so figured I would give it a try.  I have yet to have a cramp with the bar of soap in the bed.  I only get them when sleeping on the couch or when the bar gets knocked off the bed.

I've heard of this, but can't see any way that it could work. I'm not doubting your results, I just don't understand them.

13 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

I get that's how to prevent them...lol.

But once they hit, how is the quickest way to stop them. 

 If the cramp is in my calf, no problem just stand up and stretch and it goes away. It is those shin cramps that stretching doesn't relieve that sometimes cause problems.

I honestly don't get them often, but after walking a lot yesterday...they hit hard last night. 

Get up, drink more water, walk around, drink more water, stretch, drink more water. ?

1 hour ago, Jumper_Dad said:

I've heard of this, but can't see any way that it could work. I'm not doubting your results, I just don't understand them.

It makes zero sense to me, but it works for my dad and I.  Lol.

On 10/12/2021 at 2:39 PM, nees1212 said:

It makes zero sense to me, but it works for my dad and I.  Lol.

Ivory soap is the best, and yes, it does work.

The theory is that soap bars contain magnesium, which has shown to relax the muscles and soothe cramping that occurs with Restless Leg Syndrome. Soap also has a scent that may be helpful for improving sleep and pain. 

Take a magnesium supplement to prevent.  Once they hit, you just have to move around and stretch.

Mustard and pickle juice.  Both disgusting but better than a ham string cramp.