Calf muscle cramping? Help!

[tricia]

Hi Cathe,
My husband has been experiencing alot of tension/cramping in his left calf. He is very "muscle-bound" as they say, and has a very hard time stretching. He works in construction and does alot of heavy lifting.
We are playing coed softball with our church, and he has really noticed alot of soreness. (He also started running 2 times a week x 2 miles recently, but this pain has slowed him to a walk.) I'm not sure what he can do to loosen this up. I've tried massaging it out, but it's not really like a knot, more like a long tense tendon that won't release near the bottom of his calf.
Sorry for being long-winded, but I really am hoping you can give us a suggestion to help ease this, or an exercise to help work it out? My hands aren't strong enough to be massaging out knots through his big calf muscles!!
Thanks,
Tricia

 

[Lucy K]

He might want to try a calcium supplement

I don't know if this would help a non-pregnant man, but it is the advice given to pregnant women who get leg cramps. LOL!! Seriously, though, it couldn't hurt. I think the other recommended thing is magnesium.

Lucy K

 

[SusanR]

Hi Tricia,
I have had the same problem all my life. I take calcium supplements and I try to stretch my calfs really good after I exercise and I can't make it stop. I figured it was something genetic that I have to live with. I will wake up in the middle of the night with a cramp so bad I think Iam dying. I scare the crap out of my husband. I have tried to put a heating pad on my calfs and that sometimes seems to help ease the tension.

I hope someone has a good suggestion because I need help on this also.

SusanR

 

[hounddogs]

Hi, Tricia,

My physical therapist said that muscle bound people need to be especially careful about dehydration. Could that be a factor?
--Ann

 

[tricia]

Hi Everybody!
In answer to your question, Ann -yes, he drinks as much water as he can -he says he can actually feel his body reacting when he gets dehydrated. So, he does try to stay hydrated, but how can anyone really tell if they're drinking enough liquids? As we all know, once we get thirsty that means we're already dehydrated.
We have even looked into going to a massage therapist or acupressurist (sp?) to get this worked out. It has helped in the past when he hurt his forearm deep into the tissue. (Think repeated use due to cutting siding with snips. ouch!) The problem with that is if the therapist isn't strong enough to penetrate his muscle, you've just wasted money and are still in pain...
So I'm hoping Cathe has an idea for us, and I'm also going to check the archives.
Thanks for all the suggestions. He is going to try the calcium.
Tricia

 

[Colleenp99]

Potassium will also help with muslce cramping.

Colleen

 

[Laurie P]

A good way to tell if you're drinking enough water is that your urine is clear.

 

[tricia]

Thanks for your responses - My DH definitely appreciates all the help and suggestions (and so do I, but Hey - I came to the right place,didn't I????) He's been paying close attention to his water intake and taking care of his leg. I'll let you guys know if we have a profound break-through!!
Tricia