I picked up one of those magnesium oil sprays from DM like two weeks ago because I keep getting calf cramps at night. My mom swears by it, but I'm not sure if it's just placebo honestly. Does it actually work or should I just take regular magnesium in tablet form instead?
How often and when exactly do the cramps happen - more after certain activities or completely random? The spray is actually questionable, but not because magnesium doesn't help, but because absorption through the skin is minimal. If you really are low on magnesium, go with tablets or powder - they work better. That said, nighttime calf cramps often have other causes (not enough water, awkward sleeping position, overuse). Before you start taking a ton of supplements, it might make sense to first check whether you're drinking enough in general and whether your magnesium intake from regular food is already decent.
Have you actually checked whether you're actually deficient in magnesium, or does this seem to come out of nowhere? With leg cramps there can be different causes - dehydration, overexertion, or actually a magnesium deficiency - and the spray only helps on the surface. The absorption rate through your skin is way lower than when you swallow it, so a tablet or powder you drink would probably work better if magnesium really is your problem. But honestly, if the cramps have only been this bad for two weeks, I'd rather look at whether it's your training or if you're drinking less than usual - that often helps more than any supplement.
Spraying it on your skin just doesn't work as well as you'd think - magnesium ions don't really penetrate through your skin in any meaningful amounts, so it's basically just expensive placebo. If you actually have a magnesium deficiency, you need something that actually gets into your body, so tablets or powder you mix into a drink.
But here's the more important thing: before you just start popping magnesium, you should figure out where the cramps are actually coming from. Nighttime cramps often aren't from magnesium deficiency at all - way more often it's dehydration, awkward sleeping positions, or your muscles are just tense. If you sit a lot during the day or don't move around enough, cramps at night can get particularly annoying. Try drinking more and gently stretching your calves before bed.
If that doesn't help and the cramps really keep happening regularly, then a blood test makes sense - get your magnesium levels checked. And yeah, if there actually is a deficiency, tablets help. But most people have more of a movement or hydration problem than an actual deficiency.
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