During the summer I fell out of a very important routine. The amounts and timing of my vitamins and supplements had suffered me to my own fate. My left foot began cramping periodically.

The cramping took my by surprise until I figured out that I had not been taking enough magnesium. My usual amount to take is 1000mg. I had fallen to under 300mg. With my activity levels and my age, falling short of my bodies needs is painful.

Magnesium has five main functions in the Body.
1.Relaxing Muscles
2.Transmitting Nerve Signals
3.Synthesizing Protein
4.Producing and transporting Energy
5.Catalyzing most chemical reactions in the body.
 
Articles about magnesium deficiency and how we all could use just a little bit more make sense to me. Muscle cramps, mental health conditions of anxiety, OCD, depression, ... are all helped with added magnesium. 

http://drsircus.com/medicine/magnesium/magnesium-deficiency-symptoms-diagnosis

This is the list of conditions associated with magnesium deficiency.
Acid reflux. Adrenal fatigue. Alzheimer’s disease. Angina. Arrhythmia. Anxiety and panic attacks. Arthritis. Asthma. Atherosclerosis with calcium deposits. Blood clots. Bowel disease. Brain dysfunction. Cancer. Cholesterol elevation. Cystitis. Depression. Toxification. Diabetes. Fatigue. Headaches. Heart disease. Hypertension. Hypoglycemia. Indigestion. Inflammation. Insomnia. Irritable bowel syndrome. Nerve disturbances of burning, muscle weakness, numbness, paralysis and sensitivity, pins-and-needles sensations, seizures and convulsions, twitching, vertigo and confusion.Obstetrical and gynecological problems. Female infertility. Premenstrual syndrome. Dysmenorrhea. Premature contractions. Preeclampsia and eclampsia. Cerebral palsy. Sudden infant death syndrome. Male infertility. Osteoporosis. Parkinson’s disease. Raynaud’s syndrome. Sports injuries. Tooth decay. 

This is a short list, there are many more on the long list, of  foods that have magnesium; banana, kidney beans, black beans, whole wheat bread, brown rice, lentils, oatmeal, quinoa, chives, fish, dried pitted fruits, spinach and dark chocolate. To check out any foods vitamin and mineral information check this searchable Long List. http://nutritiondata.self.com/foods-000120000000000000000-1.html?

I have often said I can't possibly eat enough foods (beans, greens, nuts, and seeds) to support my bodies needs for magnesium. That is where the supplements are helpful. We need magnesium everyday, and taken at equal intervals (morning, noon, evening and just before bed) during the day.   A total of 300 to 400 mg of elemental magnesium is what the body needs every day. Everyone has a body that has different needs. It is an individual experiment to find what works best. You know you need more if you are not experience any changes to your symptoms.

 Side effects to having too much of a good thing are not serious as the body will just release the excess similar to when you have too much vitamin C. Maybe you might experience diarrhea or just loose stool. 

The nice thing for me about having enough magnesium is I do not crave sweets.  And yes you can get just magnesium as liquid and capsules. Highly absorbable is available here at http://drcarolyndean.com/natural-health-resource/

Check out the many interesting articles on the importance of magnesium at these sites. http://science.naturalnews.com/Magnesium.html
http://drcarolyndean.com/magnesium_miracle/
http://drcarolyndean.com

A book that you will find to be interesting is, The Magnesium Miracle (c) 2003,2007 by Carolyn Dean, M.D.,N.D. http://www.amazon.ca/The-Magnesium-Miracle-Revised-Updated/dp/034549458X/ref=pd_sim_hpc_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1BYDPKDEKGD1J8HVT0C1

A free ebook to investigate is, Magnesium in the Central Nervous System (2011) Robert Vink and Mihai Nechifor.
http://www.adelaide.edu.au/press/titles/magnesium/magnesium-ebook.pdf

Drinking water with lemon is also helpful to add a little bit more magnesium as well as other health benefits of lemon to reduce inflammation, aide digestion, reduce kidney stones, treat cold and flu, and Meniere's disease. 
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-545-lemon.aspx?activeingredientid=545&activeingredientname=lemon

One more tasty remedy to try for muscle cramps are teas that have Lemongrass in them. Lemon grass is also helpful to treat a cold, fungal infections, stomach aches, digestion issues, spasms, toothaches, rheumatic pain, kills germs, stops flatulence, helps blood to clot, acts as diuretic, increases kidney health, and sedative. http://www.naturalnews.com/033587_lemon_grass_muscle_cramps.html

Read more on my experience with magnesium in this article. 
http://www.kimdeering.com/blog/merry-magnesium
http://www.kimdeering.com/blog/chelated-magnesium
kimdeering.com/blog

You have slipped and almost fallen but you completely stayed on your feet making a stellar recovery to regain your balance. There was no embarrassing fall. Just an interesting slide. Possible award winning dance move. Your body's response was a bit of an adrenaline rush and many muscles of back, leg, shoulder, arms, neck tightened up to protect you from the the impact. 

Now it is two weeks later and you hurt in the hip (buttocks area) and the pain might also be going down the back of the leg. And maybe that lower back is still gripping tight. What to do? 

Did you ice the injury?  What injury? I didn't fall? Yes, there was no impact. The muscles are still holding a muscle contraction. Check the muscles that hurt. Are they hot or cold. Use the back of your hand to check. Add heat if they are cold and ice if they are hot. Continue with the ice and heat and ice. This will increase the blood flow into the muscles allowing the muscles to release the tension. 

Next do stretches for the lower back, hip and legs. This picture shows a demonstration of a hip stretch. Do this stretch sitting in any chair. The leg of the hip that is in a bit of pain, place that  ankle over the opposite knee. With a straight back, lean forward, flexing at the hip. Do not curve the lower back. Feel the stretch in the hip.

You can view a good explanation and demonstration of the sitting stretch for the piriformis muscle, for back pain and sciatica nerve pain with the Dr. Steven Hoffman on this youtube

This youtube video by Oscar Sanchez demonstrates a way to stretch and massage the hip muscles using a ball (use a ball with a bit of bounce like a tennis ball) to release the tight piriformis and gluteal muscles that is pinching the sciatic nerve. This youtube video by Oscar Sanchez demonstrates five floor stretches for the lower back.
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