WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Charley Horse

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, there's Chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just the two of us. But we're here with

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<v Speaker 1>a horse named Charlie a k A crippling temporary leg cramp.

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<v Speaker 1>You know what I immediately think of when I think

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<v Speaker 1>like cramps? Now right? Remember round up? That's right. You

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<v Speaker 1>totally got one of these, didn't you? Like whow we

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<v Speaker 1>were recording? Yeah, it's on video everyone. If you want

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<v Speaker 1>to go look up one of our internet roundups. I

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<v Speaker 1>wish I could remember which one. Maybe I'll should you

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<v Speaker 1>should suffer through all of them to try and find it,

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<v Speaker 1>but I gotta just out of nowhere, like cramping. It

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<v Speaker 1>was so funny that we were like, all right, we

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<v Speaker 1>should just leave that in there. We have to keep it.

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<v Speaker 1>I think I demanded that we keep it, and that

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<v Speaker 1>was just just so great. Yeah, which is weird. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't cramp up like that much, so it was very

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<v Speaker 1>much out of nowhere. Um, I don't know what happened. Well, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>you could have been over age fifty at the time. No,

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<v Speaker 1>you might have been hydrated maybe, but I drink a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of water. Perhaps you've been sitting too long without moving.

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<v Speaker 1>There's always a chance of that, or standing too long

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<v Speaker 1>on a hard surface, probably not a chance of that.

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<v Speaker 1>Or you could have been sleeping in your brain may

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<v Speaker 1>have misdirected your leg to move, confusing your leg resulting

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<v Speaker 1>in a cramp. So those are some risk factors for

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<v Speaker 1>getting a Charlie horse. But before we explain what a

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<v Speaker 1>Charlie horse says, we should talk about the origin of

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<v Speaker 1>the word. Do you did you read about this? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a word that is very much American. You won't

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<v Speaker 1>hear that word in England apparently. And there are a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of different stories that I saw, maybe more than

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<v Speaker 1>that even but in the late eighteen hundreds in baseball,

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<v Speaker 1>one story said that there was a lame horse named

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<v Speaker 1>Charlie and it said it pulled the roller at the

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<v Speaker 1>Chicago White Sox ballpark. I'm not sure what that means. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>probably whatever flattened out the dirt. Maybe that's what That's

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<v Speaker 1>what I was thinking. That's all I can come up with.

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<v Speaker 1>There may be the thing that the hot dog spin

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<v Speaker 1>on as they're cooking. I'm not sure what's the other story.

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<v Speaker 1>The other one is that Charlie Radborn who was a

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<v Speaker 1>picture you mean old hoss, Old Hoss was another name

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<v Speaker 1>of his knee. I looked him up. He's the greatest

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<v Speaker 1>picture of all time based on the r A. Yeah. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>he was also a terrible person, Um, Lobster Boy asked,

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<v Speaker 1>From what I can tell, Uh, no murder involved, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think. But he apparently got a Charlie horse in

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<v Speaker 1>a baseball game in the in the middle of a

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<v Speaker 1>baseball game. He played for Providence in Boston mostly um,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's possible that it was named after him in

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<v Speaker 1>that significant event. Yeah, what I've always heard of Charlie

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<v Speaker 1>horse was, or how I've always used it, was not

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<v Speaker 1>just a leg cramp, but it was when you got

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<v Speaker 1>punched in the thigh or something, or or nie somebody

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<v Speaker 1>in the thigh and you would give someone a Charlie Horse,

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<v Speaker 1>and you had to say Charlie horse, as if they

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<v Speaker 1>didn't know what was happening. Don't freak out, you're not

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<v Speaker 1>imagining things. I just gave you a Charlie horse. And

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<v Speaker 1>this is called having the wind knocked out of you.

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<v Speaker 1>So the yeah, but it does seem to um. It

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<v Speaker 1>can come from that from a sudden blow to a

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<v Speaker 1>leg muscle, and usually it's your thigh muscle. Your calf

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<v Speaker 1>muscle or your hamstring is where you get a Charlie horse.

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<v Speaker 1>But as you also know, I didn't touch you that

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<v Speaker 1>time you got one for Internet round up. It just

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<v Speaker 1>came out of the blue. So Charlie horses. It's different

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<v Speaker 1>from like a leg cramps, say, like your muscles cramping

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<v Speaker 1>up from overuse on a long run. That's probably just

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<v Speaker 1>from dehydration or a loss of electro lights from sweating

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<v Speaker 1>too much. Charlie horse is kind of leg cramp, but

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<v Speaker 1>it's a little more specialized in that it's like a

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<v Speaker 1>not that just suddenly comes out of nowhere and affects

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<v Speaker 1>one of those areas and your legs. And what's interesting

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<v Speaker 1>to me is that medical science is like, no, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know. Here's some best guesses, but we're not sure.

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<v Speaker 1>Have you what did you used to do? The thing

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<v Speaker 1>called frogging someone? Yeah, that's it's essentially the same things

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<v Speaker 1>that your knuckles on your fingers are a certain held

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<v Speaker 1>a certain way when you punch them right. Totally, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a knuckle punch. And I always was um frogged. I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't do much frogging because I was a nice guy,

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<v Speaker 1>but uh, someone would stick out their center knuckle and

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<v Speaker 1>do sort of a swiping punch across the arm, not

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<v Speaker 1>like a straight punch, and the knuckle would hit it

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<v Speaker 1>and cause the same sort of sensation like a little

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<v Speaker 1>not in a bump would form. Yeah. I was never

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<v Speaker 1>very good at that either. But some kids had like

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<v Speaker 1>almost a preternatural sense of like a muscular pressure point,

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<v Speaker 1>you know. Yeah, I have a feeling you were a

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<v Speaker 1>champion pencil breaker though, No, I don't remember pencil breaking.

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<v Speaker 1>What was that? Oh, you guys didn't do that? I mean, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>like some somebody would hold two winds the farthest ends

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<v Speaker 1>of the pencil and somebody you just karate chop it. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>you would use another pencil and you would just take

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<v Speaker 1>turns until the pencil broke. But there are all sorts

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<v Speaker 1>of various techniques, you know, for maximum breakage. I'd forgotten

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<v Speaker 1>all about that. When I think pencils in school, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>I think, did you guys have the smelly pencils like

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<v Speaker 1>caramel corn? Yeah? Yeah, that's what I think. That This

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<v Speaker 1>tastes to great. Were you good at pencil breaking? I

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't very good. You know. There was always the one

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<v Speaker 1>bugs mini you could do it in one fatal blow.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that another Encyclopedia Brown reference? I think, so maybe

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<v Speaker 1>we should take a break. Yeah, then we can go

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<v Speaker 1>solve an Encyclopedia Brown crime and then come back and

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<v Speaker 1>talk more about Charlie horses. All right, Well, now we're

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<v Speaker 1>on the road, driving in your truck. Want to learn

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<v Speaker 1>a thing or two from Josh Damn Chuck. It's stuff

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<v Speaker 1>you should know, all right, Okay, So Charlie horse, leg cramp,

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<v Speaker 1>sudden spasm, sudden muscle. Medical science is baffled. Go yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so you can get a Charlie horse at night when

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<v Speaker 1>you're sleeping. It's called a nocturnal leg cramp, and just

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<v Speaker 1>like a daytime when it can go away very quickly,

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<v Speaker 1>or it can be a few minutes. I can't imagine,

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<v Speaker 1>like the one I had an Internet round up was

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<v Speaker 1>such a tight, violent thing. I can't imagine that going

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<v Speaker 1>on for several minutes because it lasted maybebe thirty seconds,

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<v Speaker 1>probably the longest thirty seconds of your life. Full minutes

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<v Speaker 1>of that would just be hell. Yeah. And this is

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<v Speaker 1>not the same thing as restless leg syndrome that also

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<v Speaker 1>happens at night, but that is when you sort of

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<v Speaker 1>have the Jimmy legs and you have the urge to move. UM.

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<v Speaker 1>But in I think both cases they don't know exactly

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<v Speaker 1>what's going on. No, they don't. UM. But and you

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<v Speaker 1>can actually solve both cases if you get Charlie horses

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<v Speaker 1>at night while you're sleeping and they wake you up,

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<v Speaker 1>or if you have restless leg syndrome the Jimmy legs, um,

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<v Speaker 1>you can solve both by doing stretches before bed. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>And sometimes I get restless leg syndrome. I don't I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know if I have it to a clinical degree

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<v Speaker 1>or whatever, but like, especially when I first lay down

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<v Speaker 1>to go to bed, sometimes I can't sleep because my

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<v Speaker 1>legs are just bugging me. And get up and do

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<v Speaker 1>this hamstring stretch and it works like a charm, Like

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<v Speaker 1>I'll be asleep in thirty seconds afterward. You know, they

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<v Speaker 1>say stretching is just sort of one of the keys

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<v Speaker 1>to life. Like if you start in your twenties and

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<v Speaker 1>thirties just stretching a really great uh every morning and

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<v Speaker 1>every night, then your body is going to be the

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<v Speaker 1>better for it. Do you remember we did an entire

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<v Speaker 1>episode on Sarcopania that's stoop that you get from old age,

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<v Speaker 1>did we? We totally did. And I think that that's

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<v Speaker 1>a really good way to combat sarcopenias, to to be

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<v Speaker 1>limber and stretch your back muscles too. Yeah, it's all

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<v Speaker 1>about keeping those muscles lumber. YEA, let's do it, chuck.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's let's commit to stretching at least five nights a week. Okay, okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so uh the other thing you have virtual Pinkie swear.

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<v Speaker 1>The other thing you can do, like you mentioned, is

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<v Speaker 1>plenty of fluids if you're exercising, especially because your muscles

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<v Speaker 1>need those fluids to relax and contract like they should.

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<v Speaker 1>And you just gotta you know, if you're going out

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<v Speaker 1>there and running or even doing a good exercise walk

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<v Speaker 1>and you're not stretching beforehand, and what are you doing.

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<v Speaker 1>You're a chump. You're a sucker. You're just a stump.

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<v Speaker 1>You know you're a chump. You're a chucker. Oh, speaking

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<v Speaker 1>of Charlie, I called you Charlie on an email I

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<v Speaker 1>think yesterday. I noticed that my head just ripped into afterward.

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<v Speaker 1>It just blew my mind. Why you're not a Charlie.

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<v Speaker 1>You're a chuck. But the idea that it's almost like

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<v Speaker 1>you turned into went with Paltrow and sliding doors all

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<v Speaker 1>of a sudden, like you very easily could have gone

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<v Speaker 1>the life of a Charlie, but you went the life

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<v Speaker 1>of a Chuck. And I guarantee you your life would

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<v Speaker 1>be different in noticeable ways had you been a Charlie.

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<v Speaker 1>Will you call me Charles sometimes though totally different from Charlie,

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<v Speaker 1>agreed Charlie. And in New Jersey I went by Charles.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh did you have a little pencil than mustache? Too?

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<v Speaker 1>You were nothing but turtlenecks, Charlie horses. I think we're done. Oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I know there is one more thing right about the

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<v Speaker 1>old eat a balanced diet thing, which they literally say

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<v Speaker 1>for every single condition known to humanity. In this case,

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<v Speaker 1>it's really true. If you eat a balanced diet, you're

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<v Speaker 1>gonna get some good calcium and potassium, magnesium, and that's

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<v Speaker 1>really going to help how your muscles operate. Those minerals

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<v Speaker 1>are super important to your muscles. Yeah, especially I think

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<v Speaker 1>read sodium and potassium have like a twenty three to

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<v Speaker 1>one ratio for your intake. Is what you're going for

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<v Speaker 1>on a daily basis, which is harder to do than

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<v Speaker 1>you would think. But they as I think, sodium goes

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<v Speaker 1>in potassium comes out and vice versa. And when they're

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<v Speaker 1>doing that, they actually produce this battery, this electrical charge

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<v Speaker 1>across your cell that helps conduct electricity throughout your muscles.

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, you want to have these minerals and like

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<v Speaker 1>good amounts, and you also want to have water because

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<v Speaker 1>water is like the thing that everything, all of these

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<v Speaker 1>magnificent metabolic processes take place in. So if you're dehydrated

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<v Speaker 1>and you lose a bunch of electro lights or your

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<v Speaker 1>electro lights are out of proportion, you're much more susceptible

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<v Speaker 1>the muscle cramps of all varieties. So yeah, eat a

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<v Speaker 1>banana or I saw an avocado is a really good

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<v Speaker 1>balance of potassium and sodium too. We had a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of avocado in our house. Same here you be found

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<v Speaker 1>five for nine cent avocados yesterday. I was like, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>she's like they must have been about to rot or

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<v Speaker 1>something like that, and I checked and they were all

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<v Speaker 1>like pre ripen. They're like on their way to being ripe.

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<v Speaker 1>They're not rotted at all. She got them from h

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<v Speaker 1>Mart and I just couldn't believe it. You're like, she

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<v Speaker 1>got it at covid r Us. So I think you're fine. No,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm worried. I hadn't thought about that part. No, I

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<v Speaker 1>don't think that's the case. COVID are us great? Are

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<v Speaker 1>you got anything else about Charlie horses? Sir? Are you

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<v Speaker 1>having one right now? I'm not. Well. That's good. Then.

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<v Speaker 1>That means everybody that short stuff is out. Stuff you

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<v Speaker 1>should know is production of iHeart Radios. How stuff works

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