Reducing the Cramplitude

Q: I just have a short question. Often times, when I have an orgasm, I will get a giant cramp or charley horse in my foot and leg. And it seems like it’s always my left leg. This has been happening a lot more frequently recently. Any tips on preventing it or making it go away quickly? My partner is great about stopping and giving me a little rub, but it’d be nice if he didn’t have to so we could keep going at it.

A: This is one of those problems that we didn’t immediately know the solution to, and if the results of our Internet searches (and the presence of “fucky chuck” on Urban Dictionary) were any indication, this seems to happen to many people at one point or another.

There are plenty of preventative measures you can take to decrease your likelihood of getting a cramp during rigorous exercise of any form, fucky chucks included. Two of the most common causes are dehydration and failing to warm up before said activity. Not that you need to be stretching like you’re about to run a marathon every time you want to have sex (it tends to kill the spontaneity a bit, though stretching naked in front of your partner could make for a nice start to things), but just taking a few moments here and there throughout the day to limber up, especially if you have a desk job or anything else that requires you to sit for extended periods, can go a long way toward preventing cramps.

You’ll also want to make sure you’re getting plenty of fluids, since dehydration is another leading cause of cramps, plus that’s just good health advice for any number of day-to-day ailments like fatigue or headaches. We’d also recommend making sure you’re getting plenty of potassium – a deficiency in this can also increase your risk of cramping, and it’s recommended that you get about 4700 mg of it per day. Like most problems in life, this can be solved with potatoes (especially if they still have their skins). Other potassium-rich foods include spinach, bananas, winter squash, collard greens, and of course:

We know that not everyone has access to and can afford produce, but if it’s possible, you might want to try incorporating more of these foods into your diet and see if that helps, or talk to a pharmacist or doctor, if you have one, about possible dietary changes or supplements.

So now that we know some ways to prevent muscle cramps in general, what, specifically, can be done about your sexy orgasm-induced sexcramps? From our experience, cramps or general muscle achey-ness tend to arise from trying positions that are new, infrequently used, or recommended by Cosmo, or from staying in one position (legs up in the air or held straight out) for too long. There can also be a buildup of tension if you find yourself working really hard to get to an orgasm, so if you’re having trouble getting there or if you’re right on the edge for an extended period of time, that might contribute to your cramps. It could help to take breaks to relax and do something else for a little while (try a different kind of stimulation, massage each other, play Scrabble, whatever) and come back to it. If this tends to happen during really intense stimulation, try a more gradual approach, or vice versa.

Also, if you masturbate and have orgasms that way, does this happen then too? If not, it might help to consider what’s different. Paperispatient has noticed that she tenses her body up more during partner sex than when she’s having fun by herself, so if you can pinpoint any differences in what’s happening throughout your body (holding your breath, tensing up your legs, etc.), that might tell you something about what is making this happen.

Fellow Persephoneers, have any of you dealt with orgasm- or sexytime-induced muscle cramps? If so, how did you deal with them? Feel free to share any other suggestions in the comments!

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