my leg....

This may seem a bit strange, but the bottom half of my left leg sometimes sort of seizes up, causing me a lot of pain for about 10 - 15 seconds each time and stopping me from moving it. This causes me to try to kick out (not succeeding) in order to try and stop the pain. It happens every few weeks, so not that often, usually when i'm swimming (which i do alot of - about 4 miles a week) or when i wake up in the middle of the night. It has also happened one time when I was shopping. I have just started driving and i'm terrified that it will happen while i'm on a journey somewhere, as the pain is really bad that it causes me to lose concentration and if I can't move my leg, even for a few seconds, it could cause me to have an accident. I was wondering if anyone had any advice they could give me?

Thanks

Hannah x

[KateMoss]

Sounds like a classic case of Cramp! ( a case of the funky chicken!)

This can be due to low salt levels ( don't go putting loads of salt on your chips though!) from dehydration and also from some of the asthma medications. These cause low potassium levels which can cause cramp too.

The best way to deal with it is,

1 - if you can sit on the floor, reach your toes & pull them up towards you - hurts but helps!

2 - Standing up - stand on the floor & put foot flat and push down & forward

3 - if in bed and have a foot board - push your foot against it or pull up toes as in method 1

The key thing is to stretch the offending muscle!

Drinking a decent amount of water daily will help - also try tonic water ( No Gin!) as this contains a small amount of quinnine which helps with cramps.

Oh, BTW the funky chicken is the dance that is induced by cramps in the middle of the night which cause you to hop and skip round the bedroom trying to get rid of the cramp.

There are a few of us out there who have cramps and they may be able to add more help!

Kate

XXX

[Hidden]

i was doing the funky chicken this after noon at work, it causes much hillarity to watch but really stinks when its happening.

i find that lying flat on my back, lifting your leg and kicking out stops the pain, but if like my knees, it cracks then you probably shouldnt do it all the time.

[Moose1]

I too have experienced the 'funky chicken' dance, although more recently not so much (but that is probably due to reducing preventer) anyway, i too cannot move my leg when this happens, usually at night. I have found that massaging the calf muscle whilst it's in cramp helps and i continue to massage it after as well.

Christine

x x

[Moose1]

I too have experienced the 'funky chicken' dance, although more recently not so much (but that is probably due to reducing preventer) anyway, i too cannot move my leg when this happens, usually at night. I have found that massaging the calf muscle whilst it's in cramp helps and i continue to massage it after as well.

Christine

x x

[Hidden]

It's definitely a case of the funky chicken!! It's my worst enemy, lol. For me, it's the symbicort that does it. The way I get through it is to hop around whilst grabbing my leg and trying to massage the cramp out of it. Don't know what else to suggest other than try to eat as many bananas as you can to boost your potassium, I guess. good luck!

Brynne

[Hidden]

I have found that daily tonic water (sadly with no added alcohol!) as well as bananas has really helped reduce the frequency of cramps that i get. can't really add anything for when you get them apart from trying to stretch the offending area, and swearing a lot!

[Hidden]

I always used to get night cramps, which I now know was due to the fact that I was taking my ventodisk continually (was 14 at the time) and not taking my becodisk.

My dad always used to wake me because I was crying in my sleep, got that used to it.

I remember stretching it out thought and applying heat to it sometimes helped me.