I had really terrible leg cramps as a kid. Pulsing, wrenching pain in every muscle from my toes to my butt. They mostly happened at night (or rather, I mostly noticed them at night) and often woke me from a sound sleep and kept me up for hours.
My mother called them growing pains. That's probably true...of course, I'm sure I didn't drink the necessary water to keep myself hydrated for so active a lifestyle.
Every now and then when I lay down at night these cramps comes back. I'm certainly done growing, so the only thing I can think of is dehydration or overworking the muscles at the gym. Since my urine is pale (how's that for Blogger TMI?) and I'm cutting down on the caffeine, I guess it's just muscle pain from working out.
That, in itself, is so stupid. Not only do I have to suffer through pain in the process of working out, now I have it later on. For what purpose? As a physical reminder that I go to the gym every day? Boooo to pain.
As I lay in bed last night attempting to stretch my aching muscles, I remembered an old wives' tale about a bar of soap under the sheets to make leg cramps go away. No one knows why this works, but it's by far the most successful wacky non-medical cure I've read about.
So I did it. Unwrapped my Dial bar and slipped it under the blankets toward the foot of the bad. I settled in with my book (which I'd been unable to concentrate on before), and about 10 minutes later my palpable pain was down to a dull uncomfortableness. This this REALLY works. It's so weird. I'm still a little twinge-y and achy today, but I'd say 90% of my pain is just gone.
I wonder why this is so potent. Is it because soaps are scented in a way that makes us feel clean and calm? This could lower blood pressure and loosens the tense muscles. I honestly have no clue.
Check it out. It would have saved me a whole lotta hurt as a kid.
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