Cramp
Cramp!
A word that strikes fear into everyone that has experienced that tightening of the muscle followed by a large box of PAIN!
What is it?
Technically cramp is described as an involuntary contraction of a muscle that doesn’t then relax – well it wouldn’t be voluntary is all I can say!
Almost in every case that I see (and have experienced myself!) it is the muscles response to 2 things, firstly being fed and watered poorly and secondly being abused harder and/or longer than it had ever been trained for and yep, it does get more common as we get older, so really cramp is just the muscle paying you back for all that abuse!
I have recently reviewed the scientific literature on cramp, they have still not found that magic bullet to cure it, the cause is still described as unknown.
What is known is that it is made worse by the lowering of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium salt levels in our bodies due primarily to dehydration, in our case as athletes through sweating in addition to poor flexibility, muscle fatigue and muscle activities.
The treatment if you get ‘nailed’?
1. Stop the activity, always hard to do 60km from home!
2. Gentle stretching and massage the cramping muscle
3. Rehydrate with an electrolyte hydration formula
So how do you stop it from happening?
Good question but it should be what can we do to minimize the chance of it happening?
1. Get fitter!
2. Warm up before and gently stretch after exercise
3. Feed and hydrate your muscles with good quality carbohydrates for sustained energy and an electrolyte drink.
So what are ‘electrolytes’?
These are the bio-active salts that are critical to life, they become ions in solution meaning that they can conduct electricity and their overall amounts and balance are essential for our cells and organs to function.
The main ones are:
Sodium:
Yep plain old salt. This is the major ion in fluid outside of cells (blood), it helps regulate the total amount of water in our system and the sodium channels across cell membranes control many critical body functions.
Potassium:
The major ion inside the cells and it does things like regulate our heart beat (best it doesn’t go wrong!) and muscle function.
Calcium:
The most abundant ion in our body thanks to bones and teeth but about 1% is in our fluids and is critical to muscle contraction (see a trend here?) and blood vessel contraction and expansion
Magnesium:
Another critical ion that often becomes less available with age, magnesium deficiency is directly related to cramping and its availability drops dramatically when other ions are depleted.
The first thing is to eat a great balanced diet made up of fresh foods and when you exercise use a good electrolyte replacement drink that will have these in their bio-available forms. Stay hydrated out there and beat the cramp!
Article by: Mark Inglis
A word that strikes fear into everyone that has experienced that tightening of the muscle followed by a large box of PAIN!
What is it?
Technically cramp is described as an involuntary contraction of a muscle that doesn’t then relax – well it wouldn’t be voluntary is all I can say!
Almost in every case that I see (and have experienced myself!) it is the muscles response to 2 things, firstly being fed and watered poorly and secondly being abused harder and/or longer than it had ever been trained for and yep, it does get more common as we get older, so really cramp is just the muscle paying you back for all that abuse!
I have recently reviewed the scientific literature on cramp, they have still not found that magic bullet to cure it, the cause is still described as unknown.
What is known is that it is made worse by the lowering of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium salt levels in our bodies due primarily to dehydration, in our case as athletes through sweating in addition to poor flexibility, muscle fatigue and muscle activities.
The treatment if you get ‘nailed’?
1. Stop the activity, always hard to do 60km from home!
2. Gentle stretching and massage the cramping muscle
3. Rehydrate with an electrolyte hydration formula
So how do you stop it from happening?
Good question but it should be what can we do to minimize the chance of it happening?
1. Get fitter!
2. Warm up before and gently stretch after exercise
3. Feed and hydrate your muscles with good quality carbohydrates for sustained energy and an electrolyte drink.
So what are ‘electrolytes’?
These are the bio-active salts that are critical to life, they become ions in solution meaning that they can conduct electricity and their overall amounts and balance are essential for our cells and organs to function.
The main ones are:
Sodium:
Yep plain old salt. This is the major ion in fluid outside of cells (blood), it helps regulate the total amount of water in our system and the sodium channels across cell membranes control many critical body functions.
Potassium:
The major ion inside the cells and it does things like regulate our heart beat (best it doesn’t go wrong!) and muscle function.
Calcium:
The most abundant ion in our body thanks to bones and teeth but about 1% is in our fluids and is critical to muscle contraction (see a trend here?) and blood vessel contraction and expansion
Magnesium:
Another critical ion that often becomes less available with age, magnesium deficiency is directly related to cramping and its availability drops dramatically when other ions are depleted.
The first thing is to eat a great balanced diet made up of fresh foods and when you exercise use a good electrolyte replacement drink that will have these in their bio-available forms. Stay hydrated out there and beat the cramp!
Article by: Mark Inglis
