Re: Muscle Cramp

[Guest guest]

,

I'm not entirely sure what has happened with your leg, I sincerely hope it isn't too serious my friend. Ok , here are somethings to look for, TEMPERATURE, heat over the injured area means an inflammatory process is going on and the injury very possibly requires treatment. Is there any SWELLING, this is the second factor that is usually seen and felt after a soft tissue injury. The third factor is a REDDENING of the skin around the injured area.

ICE not heat is the first treatment to be applied to an immediate injury, Ice reduces temperature which reduces bloodflow which in turn reduces pain. Other things that can be beneficial are strapping the injured area and elevating it, both these things can help prevent the build up of toxins such as lactic acid in the injured area. Please remember, pain is a signal something is wrong and should NEVER be ignored.

I hope this helps.

Please let me know how things go my friend.

Best wishes

Dave

[Guest guest]

,

I totally agree with Dave...use ice, not heat, at least for the first

two or three days.

When applying heat, you might also want to smear some Tiger Balm

(available at health food stores and GNC) on the muscle as well.

It's got menthol, eucalyptus and camphor and increases the heat to

the area.

Arnica gel is good, so are Arnica pellets to be taken internally.

There's also ibuprofen and alleve, depending on which works best for

you in reducing inflammation (probably shouldn't be combined with

ingestible arnica).

Elevate the injured leg as often as possible.

In addition, a GOOD absorbable calcium/magnesium supplement will help

with cramping (if that is, in fact, what you're suffering from).

Finding absorbable calcium can be a real challenge. There are lots

of calcium products that shoot straight thru one's system without

being absorbed into the bloodstream! Taking antacids in order to get

calcium is a joke cause calcium needs an acidic environment in order

to be absorbed! Vitamin Shoppe sells a high quality " Calcium Citrate

plus Magnesium. " I just got mine today for the first time. But, a

close friend who is very picky and meticulous about what she takes

swears by it...I trust her judgment completely on supplements.

I hope you feel better soon. It almost sounds like you had the same

type of injury I had while doing step aerobics. I hope you recover

quickly!

Hugs,

F

;-)

> ,

> I'm not entirely sure what has happened with your leg, I

sincerely hope it isn't too serious my friend. Ok , here are

somethings to look for, TEMPERATURE, heat over the injured area means

an inflammatory process is going on and the injury very possibly

requires treatment. Is there any SWELLING, this is the second factor

that is usually seen and felt after a soft tissue injury. The third

factor is a REDDENING of the skin around the injured area.

> ICE not heat is the first treatment to be applied to an

immediate injury, Ice reduces temperature which reduces bloodflow

which in turn reduces pain. Other things that can be beneficial are

strapping the injured area and elevating it, both these things can

help prevent the build up of toxins such as lactic acid in the

injured area. Please remember, pain is a signal something is wrong

and should NEVER be ignored.

> I hope this helps.

> Please let me know how things go my friend.

> Best wishes

> Dave

[Guest guest]

You've had some great advice, I hope that it's much better today and

it's just been a muscle spasm and nothing more serious.

I've also found that if I'm dehydrated I sometimes suffer with cramp.

Jill

who suggests everyone get some arnica cos it's the fastest topically

applied painkiller I've ever known.

> ,

>

> I totally agree with Dave...use ice, not heat, at least for the

first

> two or three days.

>

> When applying heat, you might also want to smear some Tiger Balm

> (available at health food stores and GNC) on the muscle as well.

> It's got menthol, eucalyptus and camphor and increases the heat to

> the area.

>

> Arnica gel is good, so are Arnica pellets to be taken internally.

> There's also ibuprofen and alleve, depending on which works best

for

> you in reducing inflammation (probably shouldn't be combined with

> ingestible arnica).

>

> Elevate the injured leg as often as possible.

>

> In addition, a GOOD absorbable calcium/magnesium supplement will

help

> with cramping (if that is, in fact, what you're suffering from).

> Finding absorbable calcium can be a real challenge. There are lots

> of calcium products that shoot straight thru one's system without

> being absorbed into the bloodstream! Taking antacids in order to

get

> calcium is a joke cause calcium needs an acidic environment in

order

> to be absorbed! Vitamin Shoppe sells a high quality " Calcium

Citrate

> plus Magnesium. " I just got mine today for the first time. But, a

> close friend who is very picky and meticulous about what she takes

> swears by it...I trust her judgment completely on supplements.

>

> I hope you feel better soon. It almost sounds like you had the

same

> type of injury I had while doing step aerobics. I hope you recover

> quickly!

>

> Hugs,

> F

> ;-)

[Guest guest]

> Please remember, pain is a signal something is wrong and should

NEVER be ignored.

Dave,

Thanks for all your great advice! The area isn't necessarily warm to

the touch or red, but it is a little bit swollen. It's only a little

bit of swelling and a little bit of bruising, so I'm not sure what

that means. It hurts a little less than yesterday, but there's still

something wrong. I'm gonna take it easy for a few days and see what

happens Thanks again!

[Guest guest]

> I hope you feel better soon. It almost sounds like you had the

same

> type of injury I had while doing step aerobics. I hope you recover

> quickly!

,

Thanks for all the advice I'm gonna go to GNC later this morning

and see what I can find! I feel like I've got my own personal group

of healers with all the excellent advice I've gotten Thanks so

much everyone!

Hey, about the Calcium....does that mean that the Citracal Calcium

Citrate I take every day is no good? It's got Calcium plus Vitamin

D.....I just got it at the grocery store cause my gynecologist

recommended it.

[Guest guest]

> Hey, about the Calcium....does that mean that the Citracal Calcium

> Citrate I take every day is no good? It's got Calcium plus Vitamin

> D.....I just got it at the grocery store cause my gynecologist

> recommended it.

-

Don't worry too much about the Calcium supp you're taking. It should

work fine. is absolutely right....muscles do require calcium

to contract properly and if there is not enough calcium available

they can go into a state of tetany or constant contraction commonly

known as a cramp. It's been awhile since I took Adv. Physiology, but

that is pretty much how I remember it.

However, speaking from a nutritional point of view. Your body is

very particular about maintaining calcium available in the blood. In

fact, within 24 hours of an insufficient calcium intake, the body

will begin drawing from your bones to make up the difference. (I

just studied this scary little factoid yesterday while I was

preparing for my exam!) Our bones are basically a giant calcium

warehouse that our body draws upon when calcium is needed and,

conversely, will store calcium when intake is adequate. As far as

calcium absorption, vitamin D is a recognized promoter of calcium

absorption (that's why most milks are fortified with vit D) also

studies have shown that the efficiency of absorption is increased

during times of physiological need. In other words, if your body

really needs the calcium, it will suck up as much calcium as you

ingest as it possibly can. So, if you're muscle cramping is a result

of low calcium levels, your body will just be absorbing all that

calcium you're taking in your Citracal. However, not to contradict

because she did have a very valid point: calcium does " shoot "

through our body quite rapidly. It is not one of the best absorbed

minerals in our body. Studies of young adults have shown that

approximately 20% to 40% of ingested calcium is actually absorbed.

And, interestingly enough, the more and more calcium you take to

compensate for this fact, the smaller and smaller the actual

percentage of calcium that will be absorbed. Do not worry the RDA's

are written to account for this unique twist in our body. I just

looked all of this information up in one of my reference texts to be

sure I'm not blowing hot air all over you! LOL

Okay so how did you like your lesson on calcium and nutritional

need? Sorry, it's the nutritionist in me coming out! If you do have

any more questions about it though, don't hesitate to shoot them my

way. I'll do my best to answer.

Jen

Who knows she's long winded and thanks you all for putting up with me!

[Guest guest]

> Okay so how did you like your lesson on calcium and nutritional

> need? Sorry, it's the nutritionist in me coming out! If you do

have

> any more questions about it though, don't hesitate to shoot them my

> way. I'll do my best to answer.

Jen,

Thanks for the lesson It was very informative....thanks for

taking the time to educate me! I'm loving your informative posts

regarding nutrition, etc! It's gonna be cool having a nutritionist

here

[Guest guest]

-

No problem! Hope I don't go overboard too often....I do really get

excited about my profession and really do enjoy sharing what I know

(my dream someday is to be a nutriiton educator - I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

speaking to groups!) I do know that I have a tendency to get to full

of facts and figures, though. My family sometimes calls me " Cliff "

as in Cliff Claven - the know-it-all from that old TV

series 'Cheers'. LOL I've managed to tone it down over the years

and they don't call me that too much anymore but don't be afraid to

let me know when I'm getting out of hand!

Jen

Who just can't help herself when she starts talking nutriiton!

>

> > Okay so how did you like your lesson on calcium and nutritional

> > need? Sorry, it's the nutritionist in me coming out! If you do

> have

> > any more questions about it though, don't hesitate to shoot them

my

> > way. I'll do my best to answer.

>

>

> Jen,

>

> Thanks for the lesson It was very informative....thanks for

> taking the time to educate me! I'm loving your informative posts

> regarding nutrition, etc! It's gonna be cool having a nutritionist

> here

>

>

[Guest guest]

> dream someday is to be a nutriiton educator <

> Jen

> Who just can't help herself when she starts talking nutriiton!

Just realized I should probably preview my posts before I send them

off. What kind of dietitian doesn't know how to spell NUTRITION?

LOL Must be me!!

[Guest guest]

,

Regarding the calcium...i'm not sure about the Citrcal stuff. I don't

know what makes some calcium more absorbable than others. (I might

add researching this onto my endless " To Do " list.)

;-)

F

> Hey, about the Calcium....does that mean that the Citracal Calcium

> Citrate I take every day is no good? It's got Calcium plus Vitamin

> D.....I just got it at the grocery store cause my gynecologist

> recommended it.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Jen,

Thanks for the great info on calcium!

;-)

F

> > Hey, about the Calcium....does that mean that the Citracal

Calcium

> > Citrate I take every day is no good? It's got Calcium plus

Vitamin

> > D.....I just got it at the grocery store cause my gynecologist

> > recommended it.

>

>

> -

>

> Don't worry too much about the Calcium supp you're taking. It

should

> work fine. is absolutely right....muscles do require calcium

> to contract properly and if there is not enough calcium available

> they can go into a state of tetany or constant contraction commonly

> known as a cramp. It's been awhile since I took Adv. Physiology,

but

> that is pretty much how I remember it.

>

> However, speaking from a nutritional point of view. Your body is

> very particular about maintaining calcium available in the blood.

In

> fact, within 24 hours of an insufficient calcium intake, the body

> will begin drawing from your bones to make up the difference. (I

> just studied this scary little factoid yesterday while I was

> preparing for my exam!) Our bones are basically a giant calcium

> warehouse that our body draws upon when calcium is needed and,

> conversely, will store calcium when intake is adequate. As far as

> calcium absorption, vitamin D is a recognized promoter of calcium

> absorption (that's why most milks are fortified with vit D) also

> studies have shown that the efficiency of absorption is increased

> during times of physiological need. In other words, if your body

> really needs the calcium, it will suck up as much calcium as you

> ingest as it possibly can. So, if you're muscle cramping is a

result

> of low calcium levels, your body will just be absorbing all that

> calcium you're taking in your Citracal. However, not to contradict

> because she did have a very valid point: calcium

does " shoot "

> through our body quite rapidly. It is not one of the best absorbed

> minerals in our body. Studies of young adults have shown that

> approximately 20% to 40% of ingested calcium is actually absorbed.

> And, interestingly enough, the more and more calcium you take to

> compensate for this fact, the smaller and smaller the actual

> percentage of calcium that will be absorbed. Do not worry the

RDA's

> are written to account for this unique twist in our body. I just

> looked all of this information up in one of my reference texts to

be

> sure I'm not blowing hot air all over you! LOL

>

> Okay so how did you like your lesson on calcium and nutritional

> need? Sorry, it's the nutritionist in me coming out! If you do

have

> any more questions about it though, don't hesitate to shoot them my

> way. I'll do my best to answer.

>

> Jen

> Who knows she's long winded and thanks you all for putting up with

me!