muscle cramp (charley horse)

Yesterday i was sleeping in my love seat sofa...so my legs were really cramped for 2 hours or so. When i woke up and stretched my leg...the muscle in my hamstring cramped up..BIG TIME. It felt like the muscle in my hamstring were going to rip out and the muscle felt hard when i tried to massage it out. I'm told it was a muscle cramp...but usually it happens after exercise and i wasnt exercising, i haven't even exercised yet that day. Just wondering if anyone else has had that before...and know if its something serious.

i used to always get those at the start of every track season & what i found really helps is POTASSIUM! even just a banana a day helped profoundly!

Yes, potassium.  Also, if your body needs water it can cramp up.

My husband sometimes wakes up with a charley horse in his calves in the middle of the night. I sometimes get cramps in my foot, usually after my legs have been confined in odd positions - like cramped in a long car ride. It's not always a potassium deficiency that's responsible:

http://www.medicinenet.com/muscle_cramps/arti cle.htm

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/leg_injuri es/a/leg8.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/muscle-cramp /DS00311

Whatever the cause, heat usually makes it better, especially moist heat.