How to use a soap for leg cramps (and better sleep)

WWaking up from a very bad dream is awful, but waking up with a pain in your leg? Yes, So much worse. Anyone who has ever experienced a Charlie horse — also known as the cramp you feel when your calf muscle decides to take over with a difficult muscle spasm — would do almost anything to never happen again. . The good news is that there are indeed solutions worth trying — one of which is simply using a bar of soap for leg cramps.

However, before you try to fix the cramp problem, it is important to first understand why it can happen from the beginning. According to the Cleveland Clinic, there are many causes behind annoying Charlie horses, such as dehydration, poor electrolyte balance in your diet, lack of adequate stretching, excessive exercise, and poor circulation. But in addition to increasing your water intake and eating more bananas, there is a fairly unsuspecting treatment option available to you, including the use of a bar of soap for leg cramps.

It may sound a little out of place, but putting a bar of soap between your sheets under your feet can relieve you of these annoying leg cramps.

It may sound a little out of place, but putting a bar of soap between your sheets, under your feet, can relieve you of these annoying leg cramps, according to plenty of jokes. And while there is some quasi-relevant research to support the claim, the correlation is not slam dunk. For example, in a 2008 study published in Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare, one researcher had a small number of participants – all of whom had constant muscle pain and convulsions – using a little soapy oil on a piece of skin. The relief came almost immediately and lasted between 18 and 30 hours, giving them a more restful sleep without side effects.

There is not much information available at this time how Soap can relieve people from leg cramps, in addition to the findings of a study published in European Journal of Painwhich notes that the ingredient limonene – a fragrance commonly found in soap – could stop the pain.

Regardless, you may just want to try the solution yourself, why, as a doctor puts it, why not? “I divide medical treatments into two categories: those that may or may not work, and those that may or may not work,” says Jordan D. Metzl, MD, New York-based sport. . medical specialist. “Whether a soap is medically valid or not, the key in my opinion is that it can not harm you — and it certainly is not bad to try.” Since trying out a bar of soap for leg cramps is indeed an extremely low risk option that raises anecdotal votes of confidence, there is not much to lose. Even Harvard Medical School recommends giving treatment a chance, despite the lack of a scientific hypothesis explaining how it works (or not).

Finally, if you want to fall asleep to the soothing scents of soap and possibly be relieved, try it. Given the claims of efficiency and low cost, you do not have much to lose.

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