How to Treat Charley Horse

Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night with this awful pain in your leg and the more you move your foot the worse the pain becomes? Your not alone, this is a charley horse and many people suffer them on a nightly basis and some just once in a while. No matter how many times you get them, here is the one of the best ways to treat them.

Things You'll Need

• Heating pad
• Muscle rubbing cream
• 5 minutes of free time
• Large pillow

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Instructions

How to Treat Charley Horses

• 1

  Rub your calf muscle as soon as you feel the charley horse coming on. Point your foot towards the ground while you are rubbing out the muscle spasm. Move your foot in a circular motion while rubbing the muscle, this allows the muscle to relax even more.

• 2

  Rub muscle cream on the calf muscle once the charley horse has subsided or you can rub on during the spasm. This ensures that the muscle will stay loose while resting or sleeping.

• 3

  Prop a pillow under your legs while you are laying down. This allows blood to flow freely and the muscle not to tense up as much as it would with your legs directly flat.

• 4

  Turn the heating pad on medium and place on the calf muscle. You can even place it on the pillow that is propping your legs up to get a double effect.

• 5

  Visit your physician if the charley horses appear continuously night after night. This could be a symptom of something more serious.