Charley Horse What causes it?

Oh yeah, swimming in a freezing pool is a recipe for trouble. When I swam in high school (outdoor pool) in the winter (it's in southern california..my coaches weren't animals), almost 80% of the time, I would get a leg cramp, or a cramp in my hands and feet. The meaning of Charlie horse? well, I got this from wonderquest.com, there are alot of answers, but they all seem vague: ------------ Where Charley Horses come from Q: Why are those pains in your legs called "Charley Horses"? --Pam T, Peralta, NM A: I get different answers. The American Heritage Dictionary calls the term "baseball slang." Maybe a baseball player named Charley had leg cramps. Strike One! (Or how to get a Charley Horse) Morris' Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins says, "Nobody is quite sure where the expression originated, but the general theory is that the first victim was a lamed race horse named Charlie or Charley." Another dictionary of word origins suggests that the original night watchmen in London were named Charleys after Charles I, who organized the watch in 1640. Later the term "Charley" became slang for all police officers. Still later, the term "Charley horse" developed since the police were on foot and thus developed aching feet and legs. Maybe so, but seems far fetched. Moving on to The Dictionary of American Slang Based on Historical Principles we glean a bit of charley-horse history. A newspaper first printed the expression "Charley-horse" in 1903. The quote from H. Spencer is: "We are indebted to the turf when an attack of rheumatism is denominated a 'dose of the Charley-horse.'" I wonder if "turf" is a horse racetrack or a baseball field. It's hard to dope out what this quote is talking about. At any rate, the term "charley horse" has been around, in writing, about a hundred years. ------- it's just one of those things.

Oh yeah, swimming in a freezing pool is a recipe for trouble. When I swam in high school (outdoor pool) in the winter (it's in southern california..my coaches weren't animals), almost 80% of the time, I would get a leg cramp, or a cramp in my hands and feet. The meaning of Charlie horse? well, I got this from wonderquest.com, there are alot of answers, but they all seem vague: ------------ Where Charley Horses come from Q: Why are those pains in your legs called "Charley Horses"? --Pam T, Peralta, NM A: I get different answers. The American Heritage Dictionary calls the term "baseball slang." Maybe a baseball player named Charley had leg cramps. Strike One! (Or how to get a Charley Horse) Morris' Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins says, "Nobody is quite sure where the expression originated, but the general theory is that the first victim was a lamed race horse named Charlie or Charley." Another dictionary of word origins suggests that the original night watchmen in London were named Charleys after Charles I, who organized the watch in 1640. Later the term "Charley" became slang for all police officers. Still later, the term "Charley horse" developed since the police were on foot and thus developed aching feet and legs. Maybe so, but seems far fetched. Moving on to The Dictionary of American Slang Based on Historical Principles we glean a bit of charley-horse history. A newspaper first printed the expression "Charley-horse" in 1903. The quote from H. Spencer is: "We are indebted to the turf when an attack of rheumatism is denominated a 'dose of the Charley-horse.'" I wonder if "turf" is a horse racetrack or a baseball field. It's hard to dope out what this quote is talking about. At any rate, the term "charley horse" has been around, in writing, about a hundred years. ------- it's just one of those things.