30 Days of Gratitude: Magnesium
At the age of 50, I seem to be ticking along pretty well. A hip replacement two years ago has done wonders for my mobility. Where I once walked agility courses in severe pain, I can walk and run and bend and jump and do all the fun activities in which dog owners participate. I can also garden and do other house chores with minimal aches and pains afterwards.
This little supplement has really changed my life.
I have long suffered leg cramps. They have mostly attacked my calves, but in the recent years, I have also been ravaged by a cramping left vastus medialis.
What is maddening about this particular muscle is that its placement right at the knee makes it virtually impossible to stretch out. I have several very vivid memories of this tearing sensation right above my inner knee in the middle of the night. As I scream and hop out of bed, there seems to be no hope of relief. I hobble around in an attempt to relax the muscle. On one such occasion, my blood pressure dropped, I fell and hit my head, resulting in a concussion. Not good. I also recall a very dramatic episode at flyball practice when I was convinced my calf had ripped right up its length.
And then, someone suggested magnesium. I had always heard it was potassium that was supposed to help. Additionally, I had previously taken a supplement of calcium/magnesium, but this did not do a thing for the cramps. This past spring, my doctor told me to lay off the calcium; I didn’t need it. I then decided to check out this type of magnesium. I have not had a single cramp since. Now, there have been a couple instances where I can feel the cramp starting to flare up, and just as quickly, it subsides. Magnesium also exists in Epsom salts, so those soaks in the jetted tub have been made all the more therapeutic with the addition of a little Dr. Teal’s.
Since Jet is now pushing me to be an elite agility athlete, I couldn't have discovered this supplement at a better time. :) So long, crampy cramps!