Charley Horse

What was said? I’m having another CHARLEY HORSE!

Did someone really say that? Yes, I did when my leg was cramping for the 100th time (common pregnancy symptom apparently).

What does it mean? It refers to a leg cramp / stiffness / spasm that occurs in the calf or quad muscles and usually comes on suddenly and lasts a few seconds (that feel like minutes).

Origin:  Charley horse (sometimes spelled “Charlie”) has origins in American baseball, although the exact origin has many theories. One of the most popular theories refers to a lame grounds keeping horse named Charley that would pull the roller at the Chicago White Sox ballpark in the late 1800s. In 1907, the Washington Post printed a story about an MLB pitcher Charley Radbourne (nickname “Old Hoss”) who would frequently get leg cramps during games in the 1880s. One theory is that his “walk” resembled that of a lame groundskeeping horse and the nickname “Charley Horse” came to be; another is that his first name “Charley” and his nickname “Hoss” combined produced the term we know as “Charley Horse.”

Either way, many say to be rid of Charley Horses you have to up your intake of potassium and magnesium – multivitamins here we come!

Sources:
https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/charley-horse.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_horse
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cha1.htmhttps://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/312241.php

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