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How to Prevent Foot Cramps with Lavender Oil

Could smearing lavender oil on your ankles sidestep foot cramps and painful toe spasms? One reader says yes.

Some people are impervious to cramps that curl the toes or punish the arch of the foot. But many more suffer from these muscle spasms. They can happen at any time, but foot cramps are especially disruptive when they happen at night while a person is trying to relax in bed. One reader found an ingenious solution.

Beyond Bed Soap for Foot Cramps:

Q. You’ve written about soap preventing leg cramps. I successfully used soap in the bed for more than a year with good results (not perfect).

Then the cramps moved from my calves to my ankles and feet. The soap wasn’t helping as much.

Several weeks ago, on the idea that a strong odor helps, I started rubbing lavender oil around my ankles. No more foot cramps!

What Lavender Oil Can Do for Cramps:

A. Your story sent us on a quest to see if there is any research on lavender oil for treating cramps. We discovered a study in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research (May, 2012) showing that when lavender oil (plus clary sage and marjoram) was applied topically, it alleviated menstrual cramps. This was a randomized, double blind trial involving 48 subjects. The anti-cramp effect was significant.

Menstrual cramps are clearly quite different from foot cramps, but the effect may be general. Another study used soap-scented oil to ease the pain of fibromyalgia (Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, Sept. 8, 2008).  Perhaps the essential oils in the soap scent are able to relax muscles that are cramping.

People who would like other tactics to prevent or dissipate foot cramps may be interested in our Guide to Leg Pain.  It has a number of nondrug suggestions that may be helpful.

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About the Author
Terry Graedon, PhD, is a medical anthropologist and co-host of The People’s Pharmacy radio show, co-author of The People’s Pharmacy syndicated newspaper columns and numerous books, and co-founder of The People’s Pharmacy website. Terry taught in the Duke University School of Nursing and was an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is a Fellow of the Society of Applied Anthropology. Terry is one of the country's leading authorities on the science behind folk remedies..
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