Keep Charley Horses Away: 5 Stretches to Help Prevent Muscle Spasms

It was August 2004, and Hurricane Charley had just passed through Orlando, Florida, and, consequently, right over my home.

I had quite an experience during the storm. At one point, a small branch had come off a nearby tree and struck my roof. I was peeking out the back door, trying to assess the damage, when I saw something I’d never forget: My neighbor’s enormous live oak tree had come unmoored from the ground and was literally walking toward my house.

Looking like something out of a J.R.R. Tolkien novel, that tree had to have moved about 15 feet, pivoting side to side, before it finally went down. I watched as it hammered my ponytail palm into the ground like a nail and then filled my backyard with limbs and leaves. Instant forest—just add wind and rain.

During the laborious cleanup in the oppressive August heat, I got considerably dehydrated even though I was hydrating well with electrolytes. After waking from a quick afternoon nap—because sleep wasn’t an option the night before—I almost immediately got a charley horse in my right calf. I started stretching to counter it but only succeeded in triggering a charley horse in my left hamstring as well, and before it was over, basically every muscle in both my legs was in full spasm. The irony of the storm’s name and my experience didn’t escape me. That’s probably the worst pain I’ve ever personally felt and the funniest I’ve ever walked.

What a Charley Is

A charley (or charlie) horse is a colloquial term for a muscle spasm or cramp. Several causes include dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, prolonged sitting, muscle overuse, and even medications such as statins or diuretics.

There are two general theories about why muscles go into spasm, both centering around hyperexcitability, or increased nerve responsiveness:

Central Theory: In central theory, overuse of the muscles leads to general hyperexcitability in which the “contract” impulses are stimulated while the “relax” impulses are inhibited. The result? Contraction. Painful contraction. Stretching is effective in this circumstance because, while it provides a direct mechanical challenge to the cramp, it also helps trigger muscle inhibition, allowing the muscle to receive relax signals again.

Peripheral Theory: In peripheral theory, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, poor circulation, sweating, or dehydration disrupt the space around nerve endings and can also trigger imbalances in electrolytes like sodium, magnesium, potassium, and calcium, which can cause chaotic, involuntary muscle contractions. In my post-hurricane scenario, I believe I had a little bit of everything going on.

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Quick Fixes

Immediate relief for active muscle spasms can include:

5 Proactive Stretches to Prevent Muscle Spasms

Charley horses can leave you hurting for days after you’ve countered them. As I discovered the hard way, it’s much better to prevent them than to have to try to calm them. The following exercises may help prevent potential charley horses. They are especially good at night, when a great many muscle spasms tend to develop.

While these stretches are gentle, I suggest you speak with your medical provider to ensure they are right for you.

1. Supine Hamstring Stretch

Hamstrings are large and powerful muscles. The big problem with hamstring spasms is that hamstrings are large and powerful muscles, and when they spasm, they do so in a big way and can be very challenging to stretch once they start spasming, so it’s best to avoid spasms in the first place; prevention is key.

Step 1: Lie on the ground with your hips and knees bent and your feet flat on the surface.

Step 2: Place your hands behind your right thigh and gently lift your right leg straight while extending the knee. Only pull up as far as you comfortably can. Hold the position for 30 seconds before lowering your leg back down and repeating the movement on the other side.

Step 3: Lifting your leg and holding for 30 seconds counts as one repetition. Try to perform six repetitions per side.

Modifications: Only extend your knee as far as you can. Hamstrings need to be released carefully, and there’s no need to push into pain. If you struggle with tight hamstrings, you can also experiment with longer hold times to make the stretch more effective. Start by doubling the time and see where it goes from there.

You may feel discomfort in your back as you straighten your knee, a sign that your tight hamstrings are pulling hard on your back when you stretch. One trick you can try: Keep your knee slightly bent as you lift your leg, and then gently extend your knee once your thigh is straight up and down. It’s a great way to explore hamstring tightness safely.

Why I Like It: This is a simple but deeply effective stretch for the hamstrings. Due to the nature of the stretch, it’s easy to control.

2. Sitting Calf Stretch

This sitting stretch uses a strap, belt, or a towel to directly stretch your calf muscles.

Step 1: Sit on the floor with your knees straight.

Step 2: Bend your left knee and bring your left foot close to your right leg.

Step 3: Holding the strap by both ends, loop the towel over the ball of your right foot, just behind your toes.

Step 4: Gently pull your foot toward you as far as you comfortably can and hold for 30 seconds, then slowly point your toes forward. Work forward and back.

Step 5: Pulling your foot back and then relaxing it counts as one repetition. Try to perform six repetitions per side.

Modifications: Adjust your handholds on the strap based on what’s comfortable for your back and shoulders. Be sure not to pull too hard on your foot; you want a nice, sustained stretch, not a short, intense one.

Why I Like It: This exercise focuses directly on your calf muscles. I like that you can closely observe what you’re doing in real time. This is one of the most controllable exercises you’ll ever try.

3. Seated Toe Raises

This is a great follow-up exercise for the seated calf stretch. In the previous exercise, we maximized the amount of stretch to your calf. In this, we move the leg into active movement, activating the tibialis anterior muscles on the front of your lower leg, while providing a reciprocal stretch on the calf muscles that we stretched out in the last exercise.

Step 1: Sit at the front of a chair with your feet flat on the ground.

Step 2: Keeping your heels on the floor, lift your feet toward your shins as far as you can and hold for one second, then lower them.

Step 3: Lifting your toes and then placing them back on the floor counts as one repetition. Try to perform three sets of 12 repetitions.

Modifications: Only flex your feet as far as is comfortable. Be sure to draw back your whole foot—not just your toes.

Why I Like It: The active repetitions of this exercise provide great warming action for your calf muscles, and warm, stretched muscles can help keep ol’ Charley at bay.

4. Seated Tibialis Anterior Stretch

This stretch actively engages the tibialis anterior muscles—those on the front of the shin—which is good for warming them up and then stretching them out.

Step 1: While sitting in a chair, cross your right leg over your left, with your ankle just above the left knee.

Step 2: Using your right hand to hold the leg in position, place your left hand over the middle of your foot with your fingers on the top of your foot and your thumb on the middle of the sole.

Step 3: Gently pull your toes toward you as far as you comfortably can, and then turn your foot with your hand so that your big toe moves closer to your body. Once you move as far as you comfortably can, hold for 30 seconds, then relax the foot back to the starting position; moving into the stretch and holding for 30 seconds counts as one repetition. Try to perform three repetitions per side.

Modifications: Only move your feet into as much stretch as you comfortably can. You can experiment with hold times and repetitions to see what works best for you.

Why I Like It: Almost everyone knows how to stretch their calves, and there are many ways to do it. The front of the lower leg is generally neglected when it comes to stretching, but it also needs a little love, and this stretch does just that.

5. Heel Dig

The heel dig works chiefly by inhibition, that is, by decreasing muscle action potential. The trick in this exercise is that it engages your hamstring muscles, which provides a complementary relaxation in your quadriceps muscles.

Step 1: Sit with your legs extended and bend your right knee to 90 degrees.

Step 2: Gently press your heel down into the surface, then, while continuing to press down, gently pull it back toward your hip. Hold with gentle exertion for 60 to 90 seconds before releasing. I’d aim for 60 seconds and go to 90 seconds if you can tolerate it.

Step 3: Each hold counts as one repetition. Aim for three holds per side.

Modifications: You can experiment with heel placement as well as knee and hip flexion angles to see what works best for you. You can also do this exercise while lying on your back. This is a gentle exercise overall, but it has a far greater effect than it would seem at first blush.

Why I Like It: The heel dig is a nifty little exercise that works more on the muscles you aren’t engaging. By inhibiting the quadriceps, it helps relax some of the biggest muscles in the lower leg.

Together, these exercises can reduce your chances of meeting ol’ Charley. Having suffered from these muscle spasms myself, I can attest that they are very painful and can leave you sore for days afterward if they are severe enough. I hope these exercises and stretches help, and I wish you the best of luck.

About the Fitness Model: Aerowenn Hunter is a health editor for The Epoch Times. She is an accredited yoga therapist with more than three decades of teaching experience.