This incredible (and painful-looking) footage captures a severe, involuntary contraction of the gastrocnemius (calf) muscle, commonly referred to as a Charley Horse.

You can clearly see the muscle fibers undulating and tightly knotting up under the skin as the spasm peaks.

What is happening here?

A muscle cramp is a sudden, involuntary, and painful contraction of one or more muscles. At the physiological level, it is caused by the hyper-excitability of the motor neurons that innervate the muscle. Instead of a controlled signal, the nerves fire rapid, repetitive action potentials, keeping the muscle locked in a state of tetanic contraction.

Common Triggers:

Dehydration & Electrolyte Imbalance: A depletion of essential minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, or sodium can disrupt the normal nerve transmission and muscle contraction cycle.

Muscle Fatigue: Overuse or keeping the leg in an awkward, restricted position for too long (such as sitting in a cramped car seat, as seen here).

Poor Circulation or Temperature Changes: Sudden exposure to cold air (like an AC vent blowing directly on the leg) or restricted blood flow can sometimes initiate the spasm.

How to stop it in the moment:

The natural instinct is to panic or curl the toes downward, which actually shortens the calf muscle and worsens the cramp. The best immediate treatment is passive stretching:

Dorsiflexion: Pull the foot and toes upward toward the shin to manually force the gastrocnemius muscle to lengthen.

Massage & Warmth: Gently massaging the knotted muscle or applying heat can help restore normal blood flow and promote relaxation.

Before someone says I shouldn't call it a deformity, I have the same issue but only the pinky finger. Too short to the point I was never able to play the guitar or a flute.

Whole apple in the bottom, and some AA batteries working their way through after being swallowed. A bowel prep popped the apple out. The battery swallower went on to swallow a D battery from a wall clock during the admission. (while under constant supervision 😯) Surgery refused to take them to the OR. They stayed for over 3 weeks until the batteries passed. Turned out this was like a chronic compulsion for them, since childhood. Dozens of hospital admissions for swallowing objects.

Cases like this are more common in the emergency department than many people realize. Unfortunately, patients often delay seeking medical care because of embarrassment. However, waiting can lead to serious, life-threatening complications such as bowel obstruction, tears in the rectum or colon, severe infection, hemorrhage, or peritonitis from a perforation.

In the emergency department, advanced imaging like this sagittal CT scan is crucial. It helps the clinical team determine the object’s exact size, shape, and location, while checking for any signs of internal injury or free air before deciding on the safest method of removal (ranging from transanal manual extraction under sedation to an emergency laparotomy).

Any EMS, ED, or surgical staff here? Have you ever encountered a case with an object this large during a shift? How did your team manage to safely extract it?

X-rays revealed that the nails had penetrated his skull and entered his brain. Following surgical removal and a three-month hospital stay, the man made a full recovery. The patient maintained that the injuries were self-inflicted and adamantly requested that medical staff not involve law enforcement. Remarkably, he was discharged with no major neurological deficits.

A large blood clot that was removed from the arteries of the lungs. Most clots like this begin as a deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the legs or pelvis. If part of the clot breaks loose, it can travel through the bloodstream to the lungs, where it blocks blood flow. Without rapid treatment, this can quickly become life-threatening