Pickle juice to relieve muscle cramps? Really?

            Muscle cramps are a universal annoyance but their cause and cure are largely mysteries. They are more common among athletes, pregnant women and older persons. Electrolyte solutions like Pedialyte have been recommended to prevent them but few medications or measures such as stretching provide quick relief. Pickle juice is a recent entry, and it has some scientific backing.

          I was a sceptic when one of my sons urged me to try it when I developed a severe leg cramp during a visit to his home. “Baloney” was my first response but I took two swallows – the stuff is awful – and about three seconds – yes, seconds — later the pain was entirely gone. “Coincidence” was my second response.

          A few nights later I had another cramp, this one deep-to-the-bone painful. I ignored the container of pickle juice in my refrigerator that was foisted on me by my son. “Baloney” I muttered during the ten or so minutes of agonizing walking that it took to resolve most – not all – of the pain.

          The next time a similar, severe cramp hit me I thought “What can I lose? But it probably won’t work.” But it did, within a few seconds – and all the pain was gone this time.

          It didn’t take long to find a couple of dozen articles at the National Library of Medicine site (PubMed) that discussed the merits of pickle juice and the mechanism by which it works. It’s not the electrolytes; it’s the stimulation of the lining of the throat by acetic acid (vinegar) that causes a reflex to inhibit the firing of nerve cells that are causing the muscle fibers to contract.

          Thank you, Steven.