Leg cramps

[ammanda]

is it normal to get charlie horses so much at the end of pregnancy. I swear i have one-three a night now for that last couple weeks, and now my lower leg in the back hurts really bad, like out of the blue.  I just took a warm bath, and now i have slight cramping. please send me labor dust :) I really want these to turn into contractions even though they wont, baby keeps teasing me :(

[LosingMyMindInGA]

It can be very common. Leg cramps especially.  Eating something like a banana that has a lot of potassium can help .  If you start to get a cramp in the back of your calf a good way to work through it faster is to take your foot and bend your toes upwards towards your knee.  NOT pointing them like in ballet, that can make it worse.  Slowly stretch your foot upwards and try to hold it there for a bit.  It should help to shorten the duration of the cramp.  Another thing that helps is to do that before laying down to stretch your muscles out.  I get them really bad in the last trimester.  

[Brittny27]

I've been getting charliehorses every night for weeks. I'm 21 wks now. My dr said to make sure I drink lots of water and take calcium. I noticed a difference when I drink more water. Hope it's not much longer for you.

[JoyRenee]

Drink water; that is usually a sign of dehydration. Back cramps could be an early labor sign. Early labor can lasts for many hours or many days so hopefully your body is starting to get the show on the road!

For charlie horses what you want to do to stop the pain almost instantaneously is to flex your foot. Your natural reaction is to point your toes and try to stretch out the pain but that can make it worse or lengthen the pain time. Instead flex your foot (imagine trying to point your toes toward your forehead). This should stop the pain ALMOST immediately.