Do I Point My Toes Up or Down??
I woke up very suddenly this morning, jolted out of bed, silently screaming and openly crying . . . CRAMP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My son used to play football and his calves used to cramp up on him at least once a game. He'd be running down the field with the football . . . 50, 40, 30 yards to go . . . the crowd would be yelling and jumping up and down . . . and then . . . BAM! He'd be lying prone, grasping the field with his fists and ripping out clumps of grass. The opposing players would be quietly cheering . . . our players would be thinking "Oh man, not again!" The trainer would run out onto the field, grab his leg, lift it up and stretch it out. This would go on for a few minutes, and then they'd help him off the field where he stretched on the sidelines for a few more plays. And then back in. Every. Single. Game.
Oh how I wished I had had a trainer this morning! Or drugs. It was EXCRUTIATING! I forgot - - - do I point my toes down or do I point my toes up?? I guess it didn't really matter because I was in so much pain that I couldn't point either way. It was a few minutes before the pain subsided and I was able to wipe the tears away and apologize to my husband for my swear words (just kidding). But it hurt that much! So, I googled to find out the causes of leg cramps. If you are dehydrated, you can cramp up. If you are not getting enough rest, you can cramp. Over exercising can cause cramps. (Um, yeah, think I can cross that one off my list.) Vitamin deficiencies, low blood salt. If you are pregnant, you cramp more easily. Okay, okay. So, basically ANYTHING can cause a leg cramp. So, what can you do to prevent leg cramps? Well, drink water, get enough rest, don't over exercise, . . . you get the picture. I guess the lesson I will take from this experience is this . . . there are some things that you just have to go through. No matter how much you do to prevent things happening . . . sometimes they just happen. And sometimes it hurts. A lot. You can cry and moan about it (a little crying and moaning is okay, just not for the rest of your life), or you can work your way through it, learn from it, and move on. I don't look very attractive when I cry, so I think I'll choose to learn and move on :) P.S. Try bananas and Gatorade.
posted August 2011
Bananas and Gatorade are a viable solution to many of life's problems. :)
ReplyDeleteAs I commented over at Larissa's (Papa Is A Preacher) about an entirely different subject, I love a happy ending and even more so I love finding life lessons in ordinary moments.
Those things are SICK! I have no idea from where they come but when I wake up and sense that we are beginning one of those rides, I flash immediately on giving birth - and I start breathing! and focusing! and all that stuff that came in handy at those times!
ReplyDeleteHere is an interesting approach, and by interesting, I mean effective. It has to do with pressure points in the body. FOR ME, what works is to grab my upper lip, fingers on either side in a vise-grip, (mustache and all) and pinch with all my strength. For whatever reason, it provides almost immediate relief; the more extreme the cramp, the more immediate the relief. The trick is to be able to remember it, as you are "dancing" in or out of the bed. It works for Annie also.
ReplyDeleteMy husband gets leg cramps sometimes and foot cramps even more often. It hurts to watch him.You have my sympathy.
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