{{Short description|American colloquial term for muscle cramp}} {{Infobox medical condition | name = Charley horse | synonyms = Charley,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thigh Contusion: Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention |url=https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17551-thigh-contusion |access-date=2022-03-16 |website=Cleveland Clinic |archive-date=2022-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308034401/https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/17551-thigh-contusion |url-status=live }}</ref> Charley-horse,<ref>{{Cite web |title=charley horse, n. – Variant forms |url=https://www.oed.com/dictionary/charley-horse_n?tl=true&tab=forms |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250503094226/https://www.oed.com/dictionary/charley-horse_n |archive-date=2025-05-03 |access-date=2025-10-31 |website=OED - Oxford English Dictionary Online}}</ref> charlie horse, leg cramp | image = | alt = | caption = | pronounce = | field = Sports medicine | symptoms = | complications = | onset = | duration = | types = | causes = | risks = | diagnosis = | differential = | prevention = | treatment = | medication = | prognosis = | frequency = | deaths = }} '''Charley horse''' is a non-specific term, typically used to refer to a muscle cramp, stiffness, or contusion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of CHARLEY HORSE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charley%20horse#dictionary-entry-1 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=14 October 2025 |language=en |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114121351/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charley%20horse#dictionary-entry-1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Simon |first1=Robert Rutha |last2=Koenigsknecht |first2=Steven J. |title=Emergency Orthopedics: The Extremities |date=2001 |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |isbn=978-0-8385-2210-3 |page=413 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Emergency_Orthopedics/InXU-fWvZJMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Charley+horse&dq=Charley+horse&printsec=frontcover |access-date=23 February 2026 |language=en}}</ref> Generally it is used for the thigh, calf, or foot,<ref name=AFP2012>{{cite journal |url=http://www.aafp.org/afp/2012/0815/p350.html |title=Nocturnal Leg Cramps |journal=American Family Physician |vauthors=Allen RE, Kirby KA |year=2012 |volume=86 |issue=4 |pages=350–355 |pmid=22963024 |archive-date=2016-03-29 |access-date=2016-09-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329134250/http://www.aafp.org/afp/2012/0815/p350.html |url-status=live }}</ref> or more rarely, the arm.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charley horse |url=https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cha1.htm |last=Quinion |first=Michael |date=1999-03-13 |access-date=2025-10-31 |website=World Wide Words}}</ref> The term may be used interchangeably with '''dead leg''' or '''thigh contusion''', referring to an injury caused by a physical blow to the leg or thigh.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Thigh contusion |url= https://fittoplay.org/body-parts/hamstring/thigh-contusion-dead-leg/ |access-date= 2022-03-16 |website= fittoplay.org |archive-date= 2022-05-23 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220523012536/https://fittoplay.org/body-parts/hamstring/thigh-contusion-dead-leg/ |url-status= live}}</ref>
The term came into use in the setting of baseball in the United States in the 1880s,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dickson |first1=Paul |title=The Dickson Baseball Dictionary |date=13 June 2011 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company |isbn=978-0-393-07349-2 |pages=176–177 |edition=Third |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ceeU7xSLw5kC&pg=PA177 |language=en}}</ref> though its exact origin is uncertain.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charley horse |url=https://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cha1.htm |last=Quinion |first=Michael |date=1999-03-13 |access-date=2025-10-31 |website=World Wide Words}}</ref>
==Etymology== The first known written use of the term was in 1886 in ''The Boston Globe''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of CHARLEY HORSE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charley%20horse#word-history |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en |archive-date=14 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231114121351/https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/charley%20horse#word-history |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=charley horse, n. — Green's Dictionary of Slang |url=https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/2azwnua |website=greensdictofslang.com |access-date=20 October 2025}}</ref> The origination has been attributed to two baseball players, Jack Glasscock and Joe Quest.<ref>{{cite web |title=Read This if You've Ever Wondered Why It's Called a 'Charley Horse' |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/charley-horse-origin-name_l_5d4b3e44e4b01e44e4749142 |website=HuffPost |access-date=14 November 2023 |language=en |date=8 August 2019 |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930074813/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/charley-horse-origin-name_l_5d4b3e44e4b01e44e4749142 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, its exact origins are unknown.<ref>{{cite book |last1=O'Conner |first1=Patricia T. |last2=Kellerman |first2=Stewart |title=Origins of the Specious: Myths and Misconceptions of the English Language |date=24 August 2010 |publisher=Random House Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8129-7810-0 |page=103 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hsu47CBwJPUC&pg=PA103 |access-date=20 October 2025 |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== Other references == {{refbegin}} * {{cite journal | author = Shulman D | year = 1949 | title = Whence "Charley Horse"? | journal = American Speech | volume = 24 | issue = 2| pages = 100–104 | doi = 10.2307/486616 | jstor = 486616 }} * {{cite journal | author = Tonbridge SV | year = 1950 | title = "Charley Horse" Again | journal = American Speech | volume = 25 | issue = 1| page = 70 }} * {{cite journal | author = Woolf HB | year = 1973 | title = Mencken as Etymologist: Charley Horse and Lobster Trick | journal = American Speech | volume = 48 | issue = 3/4| pages = 229–238 | doi = 10.2307/3087830 | jstor = 3087830 }} {{refend}} *
== External links == * {{Wiktionary-inline|charley horse}} * {{Wiktionary-inline|dead leg}} {{Medical resources | DiseasesDB = | ICD10 = M62.831, R25.2 | ICD9 = {{ICD9|728.85}} | ICDO = | OMIM = | MedlinePlus = 002066 | eMedicineSubj = | eMedicineTopic = | MeshID = }} {{Myopathy}} {{Nervous and musculoskeletal system symptoms and signs}}
Category:Muscular disorders Category:Colloquial terms