B>Overused muscles (including muscles stood on all day or sat on all day) will cramp and twitch. The prevention is a hot soak with stretches.

If you did not prevent, a reliable emergency cramp-release is a wet, hot compress (washcloth or towel depending on size of cramped muscle), as hot as your skin can take, with a little pressure into the cramp.

For calves and toes, I've found it helps to stand for a moment or two (with or without the compress treatment) with my toes elevated. I've stood on books, pool noodles, blankets-- anything in reach to get me started toward the shower.

A hot shower stream directed on the stretching muscle also helps.


Athletically, muscle recovery is aided (and cramps prevented) with a hot-tub deep stretch of the affected muscles. More of them may need this than you first think when you get in. (Not mere hot tub SITS, but hot tub MOVES.)

Also athletically, muscles in development will get twitchy later that night, during the night, or over the next few days after they have made an advance in condition. It's not RLS, it's normal athletic development. Prevent/treat with active day-off movement, not duplicating the workout that produced it but moving the same muscle groups gently.

~Susan