Your favorite relief for leg cramps?

[heidi87814]

Hi ladies, I was wondering if any of you had any personal favorites when it comes to getting rid of leg cramp.

Since I hit my 20 weeks, my body seems to have ballooned (the bump, the boobs, the hips, everything!) after carrying quite small so far, and along with it has come a teensy bit of swelling in my feet (which I put down to the temperatures rising here) and a lot of leg cramp.

I've been trying to stay hydrated and keep off my feet (which isn't easy with 2 kids under 9 and a hubby that works a lot). I also read that eating bananas can help but I don't actually like them so that might be a last resort. lol

So, yeah, do any of you have any extra tips for relieving those cramps? Something that might have worked for you?

 

[Rcx]

If you get the cramps, put your foot flat on a cold surface. I put mine on my radiator. That will seem really silly lol but we never have it turned on in our bedroom as I need to have a cold room to sleep so because it's metal, the radiator is freezing. Works with tiles etc too I find it helps a lot.
To combat completely stay hydrated and to some stretchy exercises before bed x

 

[Tigerlily01]

Stay hydrated, and when you feel one coming on, stretch BEFORE it hits full force, you can often prevent them/stop them in their tracks. Stretching periodically throughout the day is probably a good idea anyway. I think it's the potassium in bananas that is supposed to help, so if your prenatal already has it, or if you are eating other foods that do, you're probably fine without choking down bananas if you don't like them.

Edit: I love bananas and eat several every day, and I still get cramps, so not sure it's a cure-all anyway, lol!

 

[Vic31]

Cold surfaces, definitely.

 

[noshowjo]

Aggressively punching my calf at 4 am in morning normally works haha .
No seriously I hate it and get it all time

 

[heidi87814]

Thanks for the advice, ladies!

My husband came home from work the other night to find me pressing one of my legs up against the side of the fridge-freezer wearing nothing but a nightie. It was heaven!

I've started doing more stretches too which seems to ease them a bit but, yeah, it's mostly cold surfaces. The floor tiles on my balcony have become my new workspace.