Three Successful Alternative Treatments for Relieving the Pain of Muscle Cramps

A sudden muscle cramp is one of the most effective ways to destroy even the greatest of moods. Doesn't matter what you are doing when a bad muscle cramp comes along; life becomes a living hell. Those muscle cramps where you can actually see the muscle twisting and turning in its malevolent route toward making you want to scream your head right of your neck are the worst. Next time you suffer this type of ferocious pain, try one of these immediate treatments.

St. John's Wort

Keep a small bottle of oil of St. John's Wort near wherever you tend to experience muscle cramps. The next time you feel it coming on, and you almost always can feel a cramp heading your way before the pain actually becomes unbearable, open the bottle and allow a few drops of the oil to fall upon the afflicted area. If you'd prefer you can try the oral route by swallowing St. John's Wort in pill form, but you'll probably have to wait longer for its effects. The secret of utilizing St. John's Wort for muscle cramp relief is a little chemical inside it called hypericin, which soothes the nervous system. An additional effect may be a quicker road to feeling better as a result of the same thing.

Quinine Tonic

If you are a regular viewer of the films that appear on Turner Classic Movies you are familiar with quinine as an old-fashioned all-purpose treatment for a variety of maladies, including malaria. Some swear by a great big swallow of quinine when a muscle cramp hits. Competitive swimmers, who are used to getting muscle cramps on an almost daily basis, have long extolled the power of simple quinine to deal with the excruciating pain of a cramp.

Magnets

I keep telling people that the future of everything is in sound waves. One day just about every task people do with involved sound waves in one form or another. Mark my words. Others contend that I'm insane only because it will be magnets that rule the world. Already people recommend running a simple magnet over the area twisted out of shape by the cramping muscle. Or you can pre-emptively strike against the occurrence of a cramp by buying special inserts with magnets built into them that you place inside your shoes. If you regularly get cramps after a day at work, you might consider these insets, but they seem less likely to work when used to strike against cramps that result from running or jogging.

Sources:

Medline Plus: St. John's Wort

The People's Pharmacy: Risks of Using Quinine Tonic

Consumerhealthreviews.com: Magnet Therapy