Rictus

[Red ones]

Congrats on you return home, and wish you a speedy recovery!




(Please don't tell us you rode home from the hospital )

[rictus01]

OK, this is serious; anyone got a cure for knotted muscles/ killer cramp????????

It’s in my left calf muscle, within the full cast, second morning of waking to unbelievable pain, moving it from horizontal to vertical feels like nothing else.

having had this sort of thing before (when I used to run) I can't use any of the techniques I would have used before or even get to it to manipulate, and am reduced to wiggling the toes on that foot and applying a hot water bottle to the groin area for a couple of hours until it subsides.

I doubt there is anything more to do, but hey it never hurts to ask.

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by rictus01

OK, this is serious; anyone got a cure for knotted muscles/ killer cramp????????

It’s in my left calf muscle, within the full cast, second morning of waking to unbelievable pain, moving it from horizontal to vertical feels like nothing else.

having had this sort of thing before (when I used to run) I can't use any of the techniques I would have used before or even get to it to manipulate, and am reduced to wiggling the toes on that foot and applying a hot water bottle to the groin area for a couple of hours until it subsides.

I doubt there is anything more to do, but hey it never hurts to ask.

Cheers Mark.

i will come over and take your mind of it honey
wish i could help.......... xxxxx

bbc

[rictus01]

Pain relief courtesy of BBC, now that’s something I could become addicted to

Thanks Gorgeous.

Cheers Mark.

Have you tried (or are you) sleeping with you cast ever so slightly elevated?

From what I can remember of having a full cast to the hip is that your leg isn't actually completely straight, the knee is eversoslighly bent. This means that if you are laying on your back your muscles can't really completely relax bacuse of the slight angle...
... or rather than the thigh muscles relax but you can't stretch the calf ones so they get an awkward pressure of the weight of you upper leg due to the slight angle...

... or something.

Whatever the cause, I found sleeping with a small cusion or a firm pillow (not feather, but one of those hollow-fibre ones) just under the knee was a godsend. Positioned slightly on the higher side, towards the thigh it felt like my upper leg was being supported (raised slightly above the angle of the cast) and released the pressure on my calf and heel.

Years later I still sometimes had a tendency to sleep with my right foot curled up under my left knee for added support - though at the moment I actually have to have a cushion under my knee to be even vaguely comfortable.

I don't know if that will help any. I seem to remember spending the first couple of weeks actually sleeping in the livingroom in my parents (rather expensive at the time) recliner chair. It held my leg at exactly the same angle as the cast and so was the most comfortable thing ever... I've still got that chair.

[rictus01]

Cheer K, yeah, you're right the leg isn't quite straight and I've been using cusions/ pillows to change the angle of the leg, but it requires changing at best every 20 minutes or so.

Pleas send chair

Cheers Mark.

Originally Posted by rictus01

Cheer K, yeah, you're right the leg isn't quite straight and I've been using cusions/ pillows to change the angle of the leg, but it requires changing at best every 20 minutes or so.

Pleas send chair

Cheers Mark.

Postage might be a it steep mate - and I'm not too sure I can fit it on the back of the bike.

Hmmm, if you're having to reposition so often perhaps you could try one of those small bean-bag footstool things - with half the beans taken out. That way it should still support the weight whilst allowing for small shifts in position.

Or alternatively have you tried simply hanging your leg over the side of the sofa?! Seriously - lay down on the sofa and put your cast ankle up on the sofa's arm - then squig down until you find a comfortable angle. Mine would balance quite nicely at about mid calf with my good ankle simply resting on the cast one.
Tended to get a bit of a crick in my neck watching TV sideways though.

As for in bed - have you tried sleeping on your side? (Though it does mean stealing most of the duvet .)
Wrap one or two thicknesses of duvet either over or under the cast (depending on which side you prefer to sleep) and then either rest your good leg on top of the cast one or underneather supporting the cast one - the duvet will ease the pressure on contact points with your good leg, like the knee and ankle.

Or, (as long as you can put a thick sock over your toes to keep em warm ) support the cast at the back of the knee with a stool/chair & cushions at the side of the bed and sleep with your leg sticking out. If the point of support is high enough then there is no pressure on your calf muscles and they can totally relax.

As for when you do get cramp - the trick I used to use was stand up and gently swing your cast leg back and forwards whilst wriggling your toes - it vastly increased the blood flow to my lower leg which helped the cramp go away quicker.

After a short while (unless they keep recasting your as they did me for the first few weeks ) the cottonwool padding starts to compress and you can shift your leg about a bit which also helps.

Think yourself lucky in one respect - the weather is cooler now. First time I was in plaster throughout a stinkingly hot summer - gods that was hot n itchy.

Have you tried hooking a belt or something over the top of your foot and holding onto one end push down on the foot like your doing a calf raise.

Not sure if your allowed to weight bear at all as this will put a few pounds of pressure thru your leg but at least will give your calf a workout with a little resistance which might help.

[rictus01]

Originally Posted by Rob S (Yella)

Have you tried hooking a belt or something over the top of your foot and holding onto one end push down on the foot like your doing a calf raise.

Not sure if your allowed to weight bear at all as this will put a few pounds of pressure thru your leg but at least will give your calf a workout with a little resistance which might help.

no weight bearing at this stage, and just about anything has it's own assosiated pain, but that's what you get for coming out of Hosp a week early

Cheers Rob anyway.

Mark.

[ethariel]

Check with your Doc (I know you hate drugs BUT sometimes they are a godsend) and ask him about Hydroxychloroquine Sulphate (Plaquenil) - Works wonders for cramp, without it, i'd be in public transport or in a car.

Colin