Cramping at the calfs

[terryl965]

My son Zachary has been cramping on his left calf. for about three days now. Nothing we have tried has helped, any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. He is eating Banana's and drinking plenty of liquads as well as icing and heating the area. It seems to start after he gets done down doing wind sprints at the end of his training sessions. He is schedule to see the doctor next week but thought maybe some of you get this as well.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

One 8-ounce glass of tonic water with quinine. You can buy it at the grocery store or convenience store or any liquor store - it's often used as a mixer for gin and tonic.

I had horrible cramps. My doctor recommended it. I tried it. Tastes horrible. But the cramps stopped within a minute of drinking the water. I have no idea why. The stuff's a dollar; give it a try. I mixed mine with some fruit juice flavored drink after the 2nd or 3rd time to make the taste better. But it fixed the problem and I mean pronto. Everyone whom I've suggested it to who tried it reports the same thing.

 

[Gwai Lo Dan]

You might want to see a registered massage therapist who works with athletes (a massage therapist who gets deep into the muscle tissue). I would see that kind of massage therapist before an MD; the massage therapist will likely be able to tell you more than the MD considering the MD will likely not even touch the muscle.

 

[taekwondodo]

Master Stoker,
zac lost lots of electrolite while training, so he needs to replenish it.

1st thing:
Go to the grocery store and tell him to suck on a PICKLE. That's right pickle. The brine in the juice and other mineral retains the water and prevent cramping.
My step-daughters when she swam, the whole team suck on pickles. Zac might want to eat a pickle before he train strenuously.

2nd thing:
There is another product that I use during summer when I train for National. The body builder uses drinks it after they work out. The powder mix called, Elite Recoup, Advance Amino recovery.

3rd thing:
His calf muscles are so tight and knotted that he need to roll it out. I would suggest you do Foam roller stretch for hamstrings and calves. Here is an example of what I am talking about. Also, I do foam roll too. *wink*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tGITra5y84&feature=related

 

[terryl965]

Thank you all for the great advice and Please Taeknowdodo call me Terry. I appreciate the title but we are friends and such I prefer Terry. Thank you for understanding as always.

 

[hilly1981]

Regular stretching (starting gently) with the view to gain maximum flexibility in the muscles. Not only focus on the calf muscles, but both the hamstrings and the achilles as well.

Last thing you want is one of the calf muscles to tear. I tore mine playing soccer last season (about 6cm long), but during the game I was experiencing tight hamstrings. This is what triggered the tear when I stepped off my left leg to accelerate then pop. Took a good 5 months before I was able to play again. Still getting physio now to reduce scar tissue and minimise chances of straining it again.

Anyway I have great flexibility in both my calves now, and have not had a cramp since the injury. Before the injury, I would get cramps in the middle of the night.

So anytime I hear anyone complaining about cramping in the calves or tight hamstrings, alarm bells go off. Tearing a calf is a frustrating injury. Even after it has healed, you need to manage it properly in order to get maximum use out of it.

 

[Kacey]

You say he's drinking plenty of liquids, but what kinds of liquids? I agree with those who say he needs to replace electrolytes - sports drinks of any type are a good choice, and so are sour pickles (sweet pickles aren't brined). Water, soda, even milk do not have the electrolytes necessary to restore the electrolyte balance in the body, and too much plain water can actually make an electrolyte balance problem worse. I have no experience with quinine.

That said, I would still see a doctor, especially as you're already scheduled - take information on exactly when this occurs, what he eats and drinks, and any recent changes in activity or eating/drinking habits. At his age, it could be rapid growth affecting his muscles - but it could be something else; I have no idea what. Better safe than sorry.

 

[d1jinx]

did he suffer an impact injury to the area? I had a "deep tissue" injury or bone bruise or some crap (forget the DR term, but got hit hard) once that caused severe cramping for a few days...

 

[terryl965]

You say he's drinking plenty of liquids, but what kinds of liquids? I agree with those who say he needs to replace electrolytes - sports drinks of any type are a good choice, and so are sour pickles (sweet pickles aren't brined). Water, soda, even milk do not have the electrolytes necessary to restore the electrolyte balance in the body, and too much plain water can actually make an electrolyte balance problem worse. I have no experience with quinine.

That said, I would still see a doctor, especially as you're already scheduled - take information on exactly when this occurs, what he eats and drinks, and any recent changes in activity or eating/drinking habits. At his age, it could be rapid growth affecting his muscles - but it could be something else; I have no idea what. Better safe than sorry.

He drinks that Gatoraide G-2 series.

 

[StudentCarl]

I do the bananas and emphasize hydration, but what has stopped mine are some pills from the corner drug store that contain Quinine. Mine are Highlands brand and just say Leg Cramps on the bottle. They were the answer for me doing heavy bag and plyo work with the kids on team. Good luck to Zach at the Open.

Carl

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I do the bananas and emphasize hydration, but what has stopped mine are some pills from the corner drug store that contain Quinine. Mine are Highlands brand and just say Leg Cramps on the bottle. They were the answer for me doing heavy bag and plyo work with the kids on team. Good luck to Zach at the Open.

Carl

Quinine tablets were outlawed in the USA a couple years ago. What they sell now are 'homeopathic' quinine tablets, which contain a trace amount of quinine - so small as to be medically undetectable. Some belief in homeopathic remedies, some do not, but the premise of them is illogical (the smaller the dose, the greater the effect). By that logic, very small doses of poison should be more deadly than high doses; but it doesn't work that way.

I don't doubt you obtained relief; but I suspect it had nothing to do with the quinine and more to do with the well-documented and very real placebo effect. My own experience with tonic water with quinine (which actually has a fairly large amount of quinine in it, unlike the tablets) might also be due to placebo effect, so I'm not dissing your experience. But I sincerely doubt the efficacy of homeopathic remedies for anything but placebo effect cures.

Just 2 cents...no disrespect intended.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinine#Regulation_by_the_United_States_Food_and_Drug_Administration

 

[andyjeffries]

Quinine tablets were outlawed in the USA a couple years ago.

Due to serious drug side effect risks, the FDA has ordered all manufacturers to stop marketing quinine products for off-label, non-approved uses. While several unapproved quinine products have flooded the market, only one product is approved for the treatment of malaria. While quinine is only approved for the treatment of this life-threatening disease, it has become a popular drug for the treatment of leg cramps. Thousands of patients have used quinine for this off-label purpose.

Experts are now cautioning consumers against using quinine to treat leg cramps because of the potentially deadly side effects associated with this off-label use. As the FDA explains, quinine use is justified for the treatment of malaria, because this disease is life-threatening. However, the potential risks of using quinine for the treatment of leg cramps clearly outweigh the possible benefits.

http://www.oshmanlaw.com/pharmaceutical_litigation/quinine.html

However, it is still available for shipment to the USA from Canadian pharmacies online.

Your call though...

 

[StudentCarl]

Time to dump those...not a lot of malaria risk in Michigan. I'll be interested to see if the cramps come back.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

However, it is still available for shipment to the USA from Canadian pharmacies online.

Your call though...

Tonic water with quinine in it is quite legal, and an 8-ounce glass of it isn't going to hurt anyone, given that it is used as a mixer in gin and tonic in the same quantities. No need to break the law by importing 'real' quinine tablets from Canada.

I'd say just try it; it worked for me inside of two minutes and others have reported the same. If you drink a glass of tonic water with quinine and it doesn't work, then move on to something else; if it does, then there you go. Simple, cheap, legal. Either it works or it doesn't. Anyone can do it without doing more than stopping by the store for a cheap bottle of tonic water with quinine, drinking one glass of it, and seeing what happens.

 

[andyjeffries]

No need to break the law by importing 'real' quinine tablets from Canada.

Is it breaking the law? The FDA has stopped the "marketing of quinine for non-approved uses" and the only approved usage is Malaria treatment. They've also stopped the sale within the USA of all brands except for one approved brand. However, if you buy it from somewhere else (a Canadian pharmacy for example) and had it delivered to the USA is it breaking the law?

The transaction happened elsewhere and the item isn't expressly prohibited (just can't be marketed and can't be sold within the USA).

I'd be interested to hear a lawyer's opinion, but just because something is having restrictions applied doesn't mean that importing it is illegal. Providing you're not breaking the law by purchasing it in a foreign country nor importing it (neither seem to be expressly illegal from what I can see).

Of course, I'm UK-based but your surely your government can't make up laws on the spot, so if it's not expressly denied then it shouldn't be illegal.

That said, I'm not saying it's advisable to take quinine sulfate for this purpose...just discussing the issue at hand.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Is it breaking the law? The FDA has stopped the "marketing of quinine for non-approved uses" and the only approved usage is Malaria treatment. They've also stopped the sale within the USA of all brands except for one approved brand. However, if you buy it from somewhere else (a Canadian pharmacy for example) and had it delivered to the USA is it breaking the law?

The transaction happened elsewhere and the item isn't expressly prohibited (just can't be marketed and can't be sold within the USA).

I'd be interested to hear a lawyer's opinion, but just because something is having restrictions applied doesn't mean that importing it is illegal. Providing you're not breaking the law by purchasing it in a foreign country nor importing it (neither seem to be expressly illegal from what I can see).

Of course, I'm UK-based but your surely your government can't make up laws on the spot, so if it's not expressly denied then it shouldn't be illegal.

That said, I'm not saying it's advisable to take quinine sulfate for this purpose...just discussing the issue at hand.

Consider that a person can buy a bottle of tonic water at the local supermarket. One method seems simpler. That's all.

 

[Carol]

Consider that a person can buy a bottle of tonic water at the local supermarket. One method seems simpler. That's all.

Simpler, and faster. Quinine tablets aren't very effective when dissolved in the gut, usually for them to be effective they have to be dissolved under the tongue -- which tastes nastier than drinking 8 ounces of Tonic water. Not going overkill on the dose of quinine either, it doesn't take much to address the issue.

I don't get calf cramps very often, but when they hit, they often hit at a rather inconvenient time, such as midnight on a Sunday night after I spent all day on the mountainside hiking. I keep a bottle of tonic water at home for the times they do hit. Its slightly more bearable with lemon or lime and lots of ice.