Why does cramp wake you up at 3:27am?
(and how to make sure it never happens again)
Yes, it’s 3:27am.
You’ve just woken up with excruciating pain in your calf. You try stretching the muscle — but it’s too late.
The pain is too strong and you just can’t do it. All you can do is rub your calf really hard to ease it a bit.
Very slowly it begins to ease a little. You get out of bed and hobble around the room to try and ease it some more. Eventually you get back into bed and go back to sleep.
In the morning the calf is very sore. You can’t even get your heel down on the ground at first. The soreness takes all day, or even a few days, to go away.
You’ve been to the doctor and he’s given you quinine sulphate — it helped a little but not very much.
This darn thing keeps happening. What can you do about it?
Actually…
If you know what to do AND DO IT, cramp is easy to get rid of
…completely.
Here’s what you need to do:–
Stretch the muscle — EVEN THOUGH IT REALLY HURTS
If you woke up in time and caught it early enough, that’s not difficult.
If you didn’t catch the cramp in time, it can be very hard to stretch the calf. It just hurts too much.
The good news is…
You CAN still do it
Once you’ve stretched the calf a few times and know what works, it actually becomes quite easy.
All you need do is bend your ankle back hard, pushing your heel away from your knee. You can do the stretch while lying in bed but it’s easier if you do it standing up. Get out of bed, stand with your crampy leg behind you, lean forwards and push your heel down into the floor.
The thing is to persist — even though the pain is overwhelming and you’re scared the stretching will make it even worse.
Don’t jerk it or try to force it. Just s-t-r-e-t-c-h it — very gradually and very gently. Really coax the leg into stretching.
Speak to it nicely. 
What you’ll find is this. Once you’ve got over the initial barrier of pain and fear, once you’ve actually begun to stretch, the pain begins to ease. The more you stretch, the more it eases.
Keep stretching and eventually the pain goes altogether
…until you start to release it again. So often, the pain comes back again when you begin to release the stretch.
What did you do wrong?
One of two things.
Either you didn’t hold the stretch until the pain was fully gone
…or you released the stretch too quickly — or a little jerkily.
If the pain comes back
stretch it right back out again. Hold until it’s completely gone
…then release it VERY slowly and gradually. If you notice any pain coming back, stretch the leg out again and release even more gradually the next time.
Done!
“I’ve tried all that and it doesn’t work”
So true. It often doesn’t work.
…but when people have REALLY done everything I’ve told you above, it always works.
I’ve gone through this with a lot of people and I know of no occasion when it didn’t work.
Cramp is a very common problem
…and it’s a constant source of surprise to me how few people deal with it well.
There are many forms of cramp, many occasions when it strikes and many places where you can get it. The calf pain at night is just one of the most common.
The procedure above works with every form of crampy pains I’ve ever come across:–
- Cramp from sitting for a long time
- Cramp from stretching
- Cramps, and stitches, from exercising
…and much more
Sometimes it can be hard to find the right stretch. Keep experimenting until you do find it
…because once you do, you’re away.
In future weekly articles…
I’m going to show you how this procedure can be adapted to many other forms of pain, such as acute back pain, sciatica and many types of chronic pain. With chronic pain it takes much longer, of course, but it still works.
If you would like future copies of “Back in Action”s emailed to you, go here: www.SmilingBackMethod.com/bia
Summary
To get rid of a bad cramp quickly and effectively:–
- Stretch the cramped muscle — no matter how much it’s hurting
- Stretch far enough
- Hold the stretch long enough — until the pain is all gone
- Release slowly enough so the pain doesn’t come back
…at all
Never suffer from being woken up at 3:27am again.
The other articles in this category are here:‒
Personal Coaching by Philip Pawley
If you want to get the best kind of help, come to me for an introductory lesson in Liverpool.
If you’re too far away, then the next best thing is to get personal lessons and advice from me online at Repoise.com, my on-line school. (Both far-away and local pupils use Repoise).
In more detail:–
If you’re in Liverpool (or can get to Liverpool)
- There’s nothing better than individual lessons. My practice is at 37 Hope Street, Liverpool L1. Ring me on 0151 708 6172 to book an initial consultation and first lesson. (Leave your number so I can get back to you).
-
If you’re short of funds, you can still have first class training from me — though it will require a little more work on your part.
The thing to do is have an individual, in-person lesson just once a month. That will entitle you to also get regular on-line lessons from me through Repoise. That way, you have the best of both worlds: in-person lessons and very regular, even daily, on-line Personal Coaching by Philip Pawley from me. That’s a real bargain because Repoise costs the equivalent of three lessons a year to everyone else.
Ring me on 0151 708 6172 if you want to arrange this.
- I occasionally run group lessons. If you’re interested in these, go here for details.
If you’re further away and can’t get to Liverpool
- There’s still nothing better than individual lessons. Here’s where you can find a teacher near you in the UK or elsewhere
- I suggest you also get direct day-to-day guidance from me by joining Repoise.
If you’re having plain Alexander Technique lessons from someone else, you still need to discover the Smiling Back Method of the Alexander Technique. You’ll get a lot more out of your lessons when you do.
37 Hope Street, Liverpool, Merseyside L1 9EA, England
Telephone: +44 151 708 6172 Mobile: +44 7872 905 154
Copyright © 2007-2012 Philip Pawley
SmilingBackMethod.com
