October 28th – Muscle Cramps

by annemariedemyen, posted in News & Views - October 2021

This morning I went searching for information on muscle cramps and it led me to an interesting news story, here.

Most people suffer occasional, if not frequent muscle cramps. I have certainly had my share, so I am familiar with that excruciating “kill me now!” pain that they cause. Most of my muscle cramps affect my toes or my calf muscles. My previous boss would get cramps in his hands that looked brutally painful. My husband Dan generally experiences his worst cramps in his thigh muscles.

Last night, Dan’s right thigh muscle cramped. I heard him let out a moan/groan/scream cuss word. By the time I got to the kitchen, he was clutching the back of a chair. By his facial expression, I was convinced that he was suffering a heart attack. Quite possibly one that could turn fatal at any moment. Through clutched teeth, he mumbled that he had a cramp in his thigh.

Having no idea what I could do to help, without risking making the situation worse, I started to gently massage his thigh. The muscle felt like twisted steel rope. The pain went on, and on, and ON! I don’t know how long it lasted, but it seemed to go on for ages. Gradually the cramp eased to the point where Dan could move. He slowly and cautiously walked (shuffled) across the kitchen and livingroom until the pain ramped down to a dull ache.

This morning, I set out to determine what could be done to diminish the frequency, severity, and duration of muscle cramps before one of us lost a toe or a leg to one of these insidious events. I expected to read about the prevention of dehydration, or the need to take supplements such as magnesium or calcium. I did not know what, or if, I would find anything to ease a cramp that was already in progress.

Amazingly, I found a number of articles, from credible sources that suggested PICKLE JUICE as a quick and effective means for releasing a muscle cramps. While a number of theories have been tested as to how pickle juice alleviates muscle cramps, most research that I came across pointed to the same conclusion. If one is suffering from a severe muscle cramp, tossing back a couple of ounces of pickle juice triggers a reflex in the back of one’s throat that shuts down the misfiring of neurons in muscles throughout the body, effectively releasing the muscle cramp.

Apparently this is not news to a lot of athletes, who have been using pickle juice to ease muscle cramps for years – and who totally swear by it.

Personally, I have not tried it – yet! But the next time Dan gets a muscle cramps – I will be ready. Maybe I will tell him that it is vodka, just in case he is not into the whole pickle juice experiment. 😏

They are even Hungarian pickles! 👍

That is my news for today! If anyone has tried pickle juice as a muscle relaxant, I would love to hear about the results in the comment section below. 😊

Take care and have a great day! 💞

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40 thoughts on “October 28th – Muscle Cramps”

  1. Wow, Annmarie, I hope Dan won’t get those terrible cramps again! I’ve had them very infrequently. I love pickles! And I enjoy sipping the juice, always have. Call me weird!

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Thanks for the comment, Rebecca. I seldom get muscles cramps anymore. Dan has been getting them really bad this year but it is because his work has been really brutal this year – for months he was climbing up and down hundreds of steps every shift, not he is walking 12 hours solid every shift. And he is a big man!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. My husband loved pickle juice and drank it often, he never had muscle cramps. I wonder if it is the vinegar in the pickle juice, vinegar is good for several things. I get a cramp in my feet now and then but never remember to go drink some pickle juice. I hope it works for Dan if he gets any more of those painful cramps.

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  6. Thank you, Frony. I am sure Dan will get more cramps. At the position he is in now at work, he walks for 12 hours a shift – back and forth on a cement floor. The only time he sits down is usually at lunch break. He has always walked a lot, but it will take a while for his muscles to get use to this level. I think some of the articles mentioned the nutritional value of vinegar. It is funny how the body craves what it needs. When I was a kid, I was very anemic and I loved liver. Now, not so much. 😂

    Liked by 1 person

  11. Husband and grandson didn’t realize anything was wrong with me and walked in the house. After a while, David wondered where I was and came out to find me. I was almost able to walk by then.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Hi Annemarie
    Thanks for a helpful post.
    I’ve been looking at the research about pickle juice for cramps , and yes, the research supports that this works. Pickle juice contains electrolytes which help with cramping.
    Apparently, pickles are good for heath too, especially the fermented kind.
    I will check to see if the stores in Newfoundland carry these.
    Now, I am really hungry for pickles.
    Glad that Dan is feeling better.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Thanks for the feedback, Sally! Now I just have to convince Dan to try it. Maybe I should start serving pickles with our meals more often. The pickles I showed come from Real Canadian Superstore (they are probably sold at any Loblaw store). They are really good.

    Liked by 1 person

  18. I haven’t had them as bad as when I worked. Like your husband I spent hours up and walking and mostly on cement floors. Leg cramps were not unusual until I began taking the extra supplements. I pray that his cramps ease and he doesn’t have to deal with them any more.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. My hubby gets them from overexertion. Back, legs, hands. For one in progress, we use rice heat packs and magnesium cream. To prevent more because they seem to go on for hours after they start he takes magnesium, potassium, drinks Gatorade, pickle juice, and water, eats salty things, takes ibuprofen, and occasionally takes the time to draw an Epson salt bath but that usually only happens after a really long day of total exertion and dehydration when they’re unrelenting for hours and skipping around to all his muscles. Someone told us he keeps mustard packs around for that and someone else heard putting a bar of ivory soap helps for what that’s worth.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. Thank you, Kim! Your husband must be in agony! Some very promising suggestions there. Dan’s do ease off after a while but the muscle can stay sore for a day or so following one.

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  26. Wow, that is a lot of hours walking, I feel for Dan having to be on his feet that long. It is amazing how our bodies crave what we need. I haven’t had liver in many years, the last time I had it, it didn’t taste as good as it did before so never fixed it again. I am glad you ate liver Anne when your body needed it.

    Liked by 1 person

  28. Thank you, Frony. I don’t know how he does it. Dan doesn’t eat liver and I don’t appreciate it as much nowadays so I only cook it for Kat now. I wonder if, like so many meat products, it really isn’t as good as it used to be?

    Liked by 1 person

  31. I would never have guessed that pickle juice could be used to alleviate muscle cramps! Every so often I get a charley horse in my calf and the only way to get rid of the ache is to stand on that leg and try to stretch it out.

    Liked by 1 person

  37. I don’t know but it would be right up there with the first person who are a raw oyster. Maybe it was the same person and they tried to wash down the oyster with pickle juice just as they got a bad cramp. 🙄

    Liked by 1 person

  39. I don’t remember getting cramps when I was pregnant but that was ages ago – and the nausea and vomiting kind of blocked out any other memories. If I had gotten a cramp, I don’t think pickle juice would have sat well with me.

    Like

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