Learn how to prevent muscle cramps from happening, as well as what to do when one is happening.
For those of you who’ve experienced muscle cramping during your lifetime, I feel for you. For those of you that haven’t, I wish I were you. Muscle cramping can bring any workout to a grinding halt; not only is it terribly painful when it happens, but it can also leave you very sore for a couple days following this dreaded event.
One of the worst things for someone who’s trying to lose weight is to be in the middle of a flab-kicking workout and suddenly feel your breath being sucked right out of you as you collapse to the floor hitting notes like Stevie Wonder and making a bargain with your body to give you back control of it.
Although it hasn’t been proven, a big culprit to muscles spasms is thought to be caused by dehydration and mineral loss due to excessive sweating; just another reason why water is so important for weight loss, not to mention fitness in general.1,2 But sometimes, water isn’t always the cure all for cramping muscles; sometimes, a sports drink is necessary to prevent cramping from happening.
Even though it’s not a proven fact, staying hydrated and maintaining that right mineral/electrolyte balance is still the smart thing to do in doing your part to prevent cramping from happening. Get this, though. Well, actually, let me present it this way. When you think of how to prevent muscle cramps, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind?
“Oh, I know this one; it’s eat a banana! Right?”
Wrong.
Many people think that eating a banana will help replace the potassium your body has lost, and while this is true, cramping is really thought to result because of sodium (salt) loss, not potassium loss.1,2
The truth is cramping is a very mysterious occurrence. While the majority of cramping is experienced during physical activity, what’s even harder to explain is waking up in the middle of the night with a cramp. And even though no one really knows the true cause to muscle cramps during exercise or while sleeping, I recommend you experiment with what works for you.
Yes, dehydration and electrolyte imbalances are thought to be a possible cause, especially in very hot exercising conditions, but so is lack of flexibility, too much lactic acid in the muscles, abnormal nerve activity, hyperventilation, and contracting your calf muscles by curling your toes under the covers.1
If you’re plagued by muscle spasms, the first thing I suggest is not only regularly drinking water, but also consuming some type of sports drink if you exercise for more than an hour or are in the process of cramping. Getting that extra salt in your body helps with keeping your nerves under control. Also, even though cramping seems to result more from sodium losses than potassium losses, eating high potassium foods isn’t a bad idea. So go at it with those bananas because you never know, it may help a little. Remember, these are all just suggestions; these aren’t proven scientific facts, but a trick that I’ve used with my brother, during basketball games, is to have him add a pinch of salt to his sports drink, and that seems to do the trick. You may have also heard of using antacids or salt tablets, and even though some say it works, I wouldn’t try it. Typically, it’s too much salt and not enough fluid. By getting too much salt, you actually will dehydrate your body even more, so that obviously is counter-productive. Going along with dehydration, I’d suggest avoiding taking medicines, such as allergy medications, right before exercise. These medicines act as diuretics, which leads to even more dehydration.
On top of these suggestions, massaging the cramping muscle is highly recommended. By applying pressure to the tight muscle, it actually results in a signal telling it to relax. Pretty cool, huh?
One prevention tip I tell anyone suffering from muscle cramps is to stretch a lot more. By keeping your muscles more flexible, it seems to have a correlation to reduced cramping. I’d also suggest making sure you’re eating enough carbs, and if you’re out of shape, make sure you reduce your exercise intensity and duration. By exercising too intensely, you can tire your muscles out too much, and as a result, you know what’s thought to happen; you’re curled up in a ball on the floor, making funny faces.2
And although this idea is kind of “out there”, adding extra calcium to your eating may help … at least some say it does. Calcium is essential for muscle contractions to occur, but the reason I find this one hard to believe is because your bones are made of calcium, so if your body is really not getting enough calcium from your diet, your bones will make up the difference. Still, there are those out there that say extra calcium cures cramping. There are also those out there that say drinking pickle juice or eating a tablespoon of mustard, before working out, helps prevent cramping, so if you want to live on the edge, be my guest.
Finally, if you suffer from “night cramps”, learn to sleep better. Just a little joke, but seriously, you never know.
OK, so here’s the big three things to do when you’re in the middle of a cramp:
1. Drink a sports drink
2. Massage the muscle
3. Stretch the muscle
Afterward, you may need to give your body a break by resting for a day or so.
Now that you’re equipped with the knowledge and techniques to prevent and treat cramping, you’re one step closer to your fitness success. Here’s to no more muscle cramps!
References:
1 American Council on Exercise (2003). ACE personal trainer manual: The ultimate resource for fitness professionals, (3rd ed). San Diego, CA: American Council on Exercise.
2 Wilmore, J., & Costill, D. (2004). Physiology of sport and exercise, (3rd ed). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Dan Falkenberg is the cofounder of Your Live Trainers. He can be reached at DanFalkenberg.com.
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