The Mechanics Of Cramp...

[sandyRoe]

Is it that the brain sends signals to a set of muscles( in the leg, say) and some react while others don't?

[retrocop]

Best answer I can find for you is from my wifes Baillieres Nurses dictionary.:
Involuntary,slow,forcible and painful contractrion of a muscle.Associated with muscle fatigue,salt loss through dehydration:also to poisons of various kinds affecting either the muscles or the nerves that control them.
Not sure if that really answers your question.

[Sqad]

sandy...I don't know and your suggestion is as good as anyone's, but for what it is worth, I don't think that it is anything to do with the brain.
My feelings is that it is a local reaction rather than a central one and is brought about by the release of chemicals which should be in the muscle cells, "spewing" out into the surrounding muscle tissue causing an intense irritation to the muscle and severe pain.

Just a thought sandy.

[sandyRoe]

I woke in the early hours experiencing one. After the pain subsided I got to thinking what was going on. Whatever the answer, they're bloomin' painful.

[Wak]

I read somewhere that it was an imbalance in the salts in the blood which creates an electrical impulse which involuntarily operates a muscle to excess thus causing the pain called cramp. Therefore a drink of water supposedly dilutes the salts in the blood and eases the cramp.
Don't know how true it is but it sounds feasible!

[sandyRoe]

I used 'bloomin'' there ^ in deference to the sensibilities of the more genteel ABers who may read this post. It wasn't the first word that came to mind. :-)

[aelmpvw]

'bloomin' isn't the word the wife uses when i start hopping round the bedroom at 2am either

[furrypusscat]

Tonic water or bitter lemon at bedtime is good as it contains quinine which is a drug used to treat severe and regular cramps but if prescribed quinine by GP don't have the tonic water as well. Stretching the calf muscle is the best way to ease the condition.

[woofgang]

I use cal mag zinc tablets when I get spates of cramp.

[beegeebee]

Beware of calf cramps. I suffered for 4 years before it was correctly diagnosed as Peripheral Neuropathy because I also began to have 'foot drop'. beware

[sandyRoe]

beegeebee, that's food for thought as I have had 'foot drop' for some time. I put it down to the fact that I have two compacted discs in my lower back.

[jno]

Crampex tablets (from the chemist, no prescription needed) have helped me sometimes. You have to take them before an attack, which sounds rather useless; but I've found I sometimes have a spate of attacs over a week or so, and if I take a tablet at night after the first attack there usually isn't a second one.

Sorry, that doesn't actually answer the question.

[sandyRoe]

That's good to know, though. I've had some minor twinges so I'll get some tomorrow.