A good remedy

by Peter Twitchell

Cramping legs and feet, the thing I dread the most about cold fall wet weather and the cold temperatures of winter months. It’s the worst thing that has happened to me while out in the field hunting, and the cold room temperature.
If I kick my blankets off or expose my feet to the 68 degree room temperature, then I am really asking for it! I wake up to the pain in my calves and my muscles locking up in my feet. Then the feeling like a vise is bending my legs and feet, muscles stretching to the breaking point, then the word owww! Ow! Ow! Ow! comes out of my mouth involuntarily.
Excruciating pain like no other I’ve experienced in my life!
I’ve risen out of sleep standing at the edge of my bed in agonizing pain, “Oh, ow!” at the same time dragging my feet across the cold floor, a grown man, my voice in deep agony increasing to the point of yelling.
Surely if anyone is walking past my house in the middle of the cold night they can hear me! But it is bitter cold outside and the wind is howling a winters storm.
I begin rubbing my calf muscles to try and create body heat to dull the pain. Sometimes I run hot water over my screaming muscles to kill the pain!
The faster I can apply warm-hot water the quicker my pain subsides and I can crawl back into bed and pile on the warm blankets. I’m becoming a little bit wiser in my old age and put on wool socks that cover the entire area up to my knees and warm blankets at the foot of my bed.
A good remedy to avoid cramping.