The People's Perspective on MedicineArticles categorized as Leg Cramps
End Leg Cramps At Night (Nocturnal Leg Cramps) Fast!
Have you ever had a charley horse? Leg cramps at night can be incredibly painful. Science explains why strange cramp remedies work.
Show 1396: Home Remedies That Work
Listen to learn about home remedies that work for hiccups, warts or leg cramps. Better yet, call in with your own favorite!
How to Prevent Foot Cramps with Lavender Oil
Smearing lavender oil on your ankles might sidestep foot cramps and painful toe spasms. Or swallow mustard to stop them.
How to Use Soap in Bed for Nighttime Leg Cramps
To see whether soap in bed will protect you from leg cramps at night, unwrap a bar and put it under the bottom sheet or apply liquid soap.
Is Quinine in Tonic Water Safe?
The pros and cons of quinine make tonic water a challenging choice for many people in their fight against leg cramps. What else works?
Can Soap Chips in Your Socks Ease Leg Cramps?
A reader who loves long hikes reports that putting soap chips in her socks prevents leg cramps. We have a possible explanation.
Pickle Relish Will Do in a Pinch Against Leg Cramps
Pickle juice is a classic home remedy for painful post-exercise leg cramps. Pickle relish is an acceptable substitute.
Show 1375: The Science Supporting Home Remedies
Hockey player Oliver Peer uses pickle juice against leg cramps. Joe and Terry discuss the science supporting home remedies.
Home Remedies or Drugs? A Surprising Smackdown!
Health care is as divided and polarized as politics. For many people it's herbs and home remedies or drugs. Why not both...when appropriate?
What to Do When Quinine in Tonic Water Doesn’t Ease Leg Cramps
What is it about quinine in tonic water that eases leg cramps? Can we explain this benefit? We think the bitter taste stimulates TRP channels!
How Can You Find Quinine for Leg Cramps?
You will not find pills with quinine for leg cramps. But you may be able to use tonic water or pickle juice to get rid of the cramp.
How to Ease Leg Cramps with Mustard
Active people sometimes suffer from muscle cramps. Many report that they ease leg cramps with a spoonful or two of yellow mustard.
Why Does Mustard Relieve Muscle Cramps?
Have you ever wondered how could mustard relieve muscle cramps? We have a probable explanation that works through nerves and their receptors.
The Best Soap Story Ever!
We've heard from many people that they get relief from night-time cramps by slipping a bar of soap under their bed sheets. Why are skeptics so angry?
Will Soap Under Sheets Help Your Leg Cramps?
Many readers find that a bar of fragrant soap under the bottom sheet can prevent or stop painful nighttime cramps. Will this remedy banish your leg cramps?
Can You Really Control Blood Pressure With Dandelion Extract?
Some readers report that dandelion extract lowers blood pressure without strong side effects. Clinical studies are lacking.
Mustard For Cramps Has Amazing Scientific Explanation
Skeptics often dismiss remedies that they cannot explain. Such is true for mustard for cramps. But now there is an explanation and it is incredibly elegant!
Can Coenzyme Q10 Control Severe Muscle Cramps?
Coenzyme Q10 supplements appear to prevent painful muscle cramps, including those associated with statin cholesterol drugs.
Are Statins and Leg Cramps a Neglected Challenge?
Many people complain about statin side effects, such as muscle pain and weakness. Statins and muscle cramps seem to be ignored complications.
Will Soap Under the Bottom Sheet Ease Foot Pain?
One reader found that keeping soap under the bottom sheet of the bed reduced the unbearable pain caused by tarsal tunnel syndrome.
Can You Prevent Leg Cramps With Hot Soup?
Enjoying a bowl of spicy hot soup might be just the ticket to prevent bothersome nighttime leg cramps. The pungent flavors could be responsible.
Could Pomegranate Juice React Badly with Crestor?
You might worry about whether pomegranate juice will react badly with your medication, but it should not create problems with rosuvastatin (Crestor).
Do Selenium Supplements Cause Leg Cramps?
Could selenium supplements cause horrible muscle cramps? Animal research suggests that an excess of the mineral can affect muscles and nerves.
How Liquid Soap Gives Quick Relief from Leg Spasms
A reader reports that smearing liquid soap on the legs can stop muscle spasms quickly.
Can Magnesium Relieve Muscle Cramps at Night?
Readers report that they can prevent most muscle cramps at night by taking magnesium supplements. Few scientists have studied this treatment.
Go Easy on Licorice to Avoid Leg Cramps
Anyone with concerns about heart rhythms or blood pressure should take it easy on licorice. Too much can be dangerous and even lead to leg cramps.
Why Can You Buy Quinine in Canada But Not the US?
Canadian and US health regulatory agencies have dealt differently with quinine pills. As a result, you can't buy them in the US.
Can A Bar of Soap Stop a Cough or Laryngospasm?
Are you getting tired of reading that a bar of soap can ease muscle cramps? We get it. We frequently write about this remedy. But here are some new soap stories, including laryngospasm.
Spring Sale on People’s Pharmacy Body Care Products
Be sure to use the discount code Spring18 to get 18% off any body care purchase in our store during this spring month of April.
Sensitive to Quinine? Beware Tonic Water!
Tonic water contains quinine. Those who are sensitive to this drug must beware tonic water, as even small amounts could trigger serious reactions.
Stop Leg Cramps and Muscle Spasms Fast With a Simple Lip Pinch
Would you like to stop leg cramps and muscle spams really fast? We've got lots of home remedies that might do the job, including the old lip pinch technique!
Could Standing On an Icepack Cure Leg Cramps Fast?
You have read all about muscle cramp cures here at the People's Pharmacy. Have you ever heard that an ice pack could cure leg cramps? We didn't think so.
Olive Juice Cures Muscle Cramps like Magic
Have you ever had a Charley Horse? This is a muscle cramp that is excruciating! Would you believe olive juice cures muscle cramps?
Are You Crazy to Keep Soap Under the Sheets?
Tucking a bar of soap under the sheets can help prevent leg cramps and possibly even restless legs syndrome (RLS). How does this work?
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Will Magnesium Prevent Your Painful Leg Cramps?
A randomized controlled trial showed that magnesium oxide supplements worked no better than placebo pills against painful leg cramps at night.
How Much Tonic Water Must You Drink to Ease Leg Cramps?
People with leg cramps sometimes suffer excruciating pain, but what can be done to alleviate it? For some, home remedies like tonic water may be the answer
How Soap Overcame a Scary Throat Spasm
Rubbing soap on the neck stopped a scary throat spasm almost instantly. We don't know how that works, but we suspect it is through neurons.
Homemade Muscle Cramp Remedy: Ginger, Cinnamon and Paprika
Here is a homemade recipe to ease muscle cramps. The person who came up with this formula based it on research from two distinguished neuroscientists.
How Does A Teaspoon of Mustard Cure Muscle Cramps?
A Nobel prize winning scientist has come up with an explanation for why mustard, pickle juice or hot chile peppers could ease muscle cramps.
How to Stop Cramps Instantly with Yellow Mustard
Swallowing a spoonful of yellow mustard can stop cramps within a minute or two. There is new research explaining how this works.
What Can You Do For Hand Cramps and Leg Cramps?
Almost everyone has experienced leg cramps at one time or another. What about hand cramps? A fisherman told us about his success with soap for hand cramps.
Why Did Abandoning Earl Gray Tea Cure Muscle Cramps?
Who would ever imagine that drinking tea could cause muscle cramps? Surprise! Earl Gray tea could be a culprit. Some people may react to green tea too.
Soap and Aromatherapy Have Similar Benefit for Leg Cramps
Essential oils used in aromatherapy and to scent soap appear to have benefit for leg cramps that strike at night.
Why Does Soap Under the Sheet Lose Its Power?
Many people report that when they put soap under the sheet (the bottom sheet) that it relieves leg cramps. But some note it can lose effectiveness. Why?
Is Bitter Tonic Causing Your Terrible Headache?
In people who are very sensitive to quinine, just drinking a few ounces of tonic water might be enough to trigger a terrible headache.
Leg Cramp Remedy Resulted in Red Itchy Rash
For some susceptible people, exposure to soap results in a red itchy rash as well as relief from nighttime leg cramps.
Will the Soap Remedy Really Prevent Leg Cramps?
The soap remedy for nighttime leg cramps is amusing, but it can also be helpful in keeping painful muscle spasms from disturbing your rest.
Reader Dismisses Mustard for Leg Cramps as Junk Science
Reader is convinced that mustard for leg cramps is bogus at best and junk science at worst. Do we always need an explanation for why something works?
A Spoonful of Mustard Makes Leg Cramps Go Away
Swallowing a spoonful of mustard can provide quick relief for painful muscle cramps in the legs or feet.
Yellow Mustard Eases Cramps But Will It Cause Hemorrhage with Warfarin?
An large number of people insist that a spoonful of mustard eases cramps in minutes. But anyone taking a blood thinner like warfarin might get into trouble.
Is Mustard for Leg Cramps Snake Oil or the Real Deal?
Is mustard a miracle remedy for leg cramps or an old wives' tale with no merit? There are no randomized controlled trials, but people share amazing stories.
Dog’s Benefit from Soap Might Not Be Placebo
We have heard from hundreds of people that soap in bed prevents nighttime leg cramps. Now we learn that a dog has also benefited from soap. Bow-Wow!
Kimchi Conquers Leg Cramps
Eating kimchi during the day may ward off debilitating leg cramps at night.
Cayenne to Combat Leg Cramps
Hot pepper extract banishes painful leg muscle cramps almost instantly.
Leg Soap Provides Magical Relief for Some Sufferers
Slipping a chip of soap into a sock can ease the pain of muscle cramps.
Soap Under the Sheets Can Forestall Foot Cramps
Slipping soap into socks or under the bed sheet can help ward off leg, foot or toe cramps.
Nighttime Foot Cramps May Yield to Magnesium or B Vitamins
Painful foot cramps at night may be prevented by taking magnesium or B vitamin supplements.
A Spoonful of Yellow Mustard Makes the Leg Cramps Go Away
This home remedy has helped many banish excruciating leg cramps, and is a long time reader favorite.
Why Does Soap Soothe Nighttime Leg Cramps?
Is there a scientific explanation for why a bar of soap in bed may relieve some people's nighttime leg cramps? Research is providing some good theories.
Tomato Juice Against Leg Cramps
Tomato juice is a simple and healthy way to prevent leg cramps. If that doesn't work we have lots of other suggestions that won't be as dangerous as quinine
FDA Bans Quinine For Leg Cramps
For years, quinine was available in drugstore products to relieve muscle cramps, but the FDA has now banned it for this use. What can people do?
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