Muscle Cramps

[CBL4]

Does anyone know what the best thing to do to ease the pain from muscle cramps after they occur?

I am prone to muscle cramps. I know how to prevent them (gatorade, stretching, etc.) and had not had any cramps for several years. However, yesterday one of my calfs cramped after playing racquetball for 5 minutes. 20 minutes later the other cramped. Now I can barely walked.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

CBL

[Khonshu]

Does anyone know what the best thing to do to ease the pain from muscle cramps after they occur?

I am prone to muscle cramps. I know how to prevent them (gatorade, stretching, etc.) and had not had any cramps for several years. However, yesterday one of my calfs cramped after playing racquetball for 5 minutes. 20 minutes later the other cramped. Now I can barely walked.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

CBL

Allegedly, pickle juice works wonders. Haven't tried it myself, though.

[Freethinker]

Not much good after the fact, but calcium deficency can cause a predisposition to cramps. Drinking tonic water is also said to be good at preventing cramps due to some effect of the quinine that it contains.

[HeyLeroy]

The potassium in a banana is said to work.

[casebro]

Magnesium, potassium, calcium, salt, B6(?), all said to help, by various people. Depends on your own bodies metabolism, I guess. Taking any medications? Have you recently started cholesterol drugs? Cramps are a symptom of statin myopathy...

I've got a metabolic disease of my Mitichondria, so cramps are an area of interest. Seems that when a muscle runs low on internal energy, calcium ions short circuit the neuro signals, making a muscle spasm. Warms ups used to help, to get the muscles into lipid burning mode as they run out of glucose. Glucose lasts for minutes, then cramps? Later, your muscles are sore due to 'overuse' of the cramps? Have you ever 'worked so hard you pee'd blood' ? Google 'Rhabdomyolisis' , about muscle breakdown byproducts . YMMV

[CBL4]

Originally posted by casebro
Magnesium, potassium, calcium, salt, B6(?), all said to help, by various people. Depends on your own bodies metabolism, I guess. Taking any medications? Have you recently started cholesterol drugs? Cramps are a symptom of statin myopathy...I used to cramp fairly regularly especially on strenuous hikes. Now whenever I exercise, I drink lots of watered down gatorade e.g. 100 ounces on a hike. It always had worked. Yesterday was strange because I cramped before I was even warmed up. I guess something was way out of whack. I am not sure why.

I was hoping for some "after-the-fact" remedy.

CBL

[PatKelley]

Stretch and heat. Stretch the muscle; if it is the gastrocnemius (sp?) muscle (the big one on the back of the calf) try flexing or having someone stretch the muscle by trying to point your foot up. Apply some heat. The muscle can relax as the heat gets in there, as generally heat produces some loss of tone.

[El Greco]

If there is no lack of minerals/electrolytes/water or an underlying condition that predisposes to cramps, then the most common cause of cramps is fatigue. And in this case there's not much you can do to prevent them. It seems that during the fatigued state several neurons may fire involuntarily. This hasn't been explained by calcium-magnesium imbalances or dehydration. It happens more often in some people than others, and more often in certain muscles. Have you noticed soccer players who often suffer from cramps during the extra time ? They have been supplementing with water and electrolytes during the whole game but it doesn't help them, simply because it's muscle fatigue that triggers the cramps. During the overtrained state cramps are also very frequent early in the morning. It's not a fun way to wake up.

[1984]

If you massage a cramp and it goes away, it indicates magnesium deficiency. If the cramp doesn't go away after a massage, it indicates a calcium deficiency.

Stomach cramps are a different matter, still open to debate. It's been put forward that stomach cramps occur when, after a meal, one engages in activity that causes the lining that hold the stomach in place to strain. Some people call this a "stitch", (not talking about the cramps associated with periods).

Don't ask me for references. I read a little, and swim a little. The above is a combination of reading around, and experience.

[clarsct]

Hmmmmmm.

I used to cramp up pretty bad. It usually happened just as I was about to nod off for the day(3rd shifter), and then WHAM! the back of my calf knotted up and hurt like you wouldn't believe.

The only way to stop the pain was to grab my foot underneath the toes and PULLLLLLLLLLLL. I could feel a 'ripping' sensation in my muscle..and the pain would go away...so long as my foot was perpendicular to my leg. The moment I let up, my foot would go right back to 'point' and the cramp would start again. I could feel a 'knot' in the muscle.

I found Gatorade would help, but here lately I've been drinking about 2 liters of water a day, and I haven't really had the problem, anymore.

I just figured it was that I drank a lot of soda and was dehydrated...

[Kumar]

If you massage a cramp and it goes away, it indicates magnesium deficiency. If the cramp doesn't go away after a massage, it indicates a calcium deficiency.

Stomach cramps are a different matter, still open to debate. It's been put forward that stomach cramps occur when, after a meal, one engages in activity that causes the lining that hold the stomach in place to strain. Some people call this a "stitch", (not talking about the cramps associated with periods).

Don't ask me for references. I read a little, and swim a little. The above is a combination of reading around, and experience.

How cramps are related to contracted or relaxed condition of muscles?

It is so easier for me to handle cramps, but...?

[HeyLeroy]

Sometimes I get a skullcramp here.

[clarsct]

That is a common condition of Kumaritis, which is a result of a prolonged exposure to the theories and questions posed by Kumar. Although, it is a symptom of only the first stages of the disease.

The treatment of such involves posting kittens and recipes, or perhaps playing an obscure British game of dubious origin and mystifying rules involving railroad stations. One other successful treatment may involve the reading of Bruce's posts about his daughter, but studies for that treatment are limited.

Some favor home rememdies of reading science and/or medical journals and publications, but I'm not sure a good study has been done on the effaciacy of these methods.

[HeyLeroy]

I can't seem to get a clear diagnosis. I've heard Iammeticulitis, Hammegkatosis and also Iacchusitis. Sometimes a bowl of pasta helps.
Pesto to you.

[Kumar]

That is a common condition of Kumaritis, which is a result of a prolonged exposure to the theories and questions posed by Kumar. Although, it is a symptom of only the first stages of the disease.

The treatment of such involves posting kittens and recipes, or perhaps playing an obscure British game of dubious origin and mystifying rules involving railroad stations. One other successful treatment may involve the reading of Bruce's posts about his daughter, but studies for that treatment are limited.

Some favor home rememdies of reading science and/or medical journals and publications, but I'm not sure a good study has been done on the effaciacy of these methods.

Ok, your choice/Good luck.:)

"Modern atmosphere ( to think/take otherwise) might have devoid many, to get real/addtional benefits from dynamic possibilities. No doubt, it has also added something."

[HeyLeroy]

I found something that works for my skull-cramp! Two tylenol and a swimming-pool-ful of water.
Glurg, now I have a bellyache!

[El Greco]

I just figured it was that I drank a lot of soda and was dehydrated...

Not likely, see this thread (http://206.225.95.123/forumlive/showthread.php?t=36192) for relevant discussion.

[clarsct]

I see your point, however, when I say I drank a LOT of soda, I'm talking about 3L of Coke a day. With the caffiene, you add the carbonation, which also takes water to process. The glucose takes water to process, too.

Now I drink water..no cramps.

*ponder*

What else would it be?

[El Greco]

What else would it be?

I don't know, cramps are quite often mysterious. I had made a lot of hypotheses in the past to explain my own cramps (and one of them was excessive Diet Coke intake), and read a lot of things on their pathogenesis, but in the end I read somewhere (in a Katch & Katch textbook, I think) that in most cases of well-nutritioned athletes they can ultimately be attributed just to fatigue. This was spot-on for me.

But if you've found way of avoiding them, whether that is no coke, more water or something else, then that's all that counts.

[clarsct]

I suppose.

But it doesn't keep me from wanting to know why?!:D

I guess I'll just have to hang out until someone discovers it and makes a killing selling anti-cramp medicine...

[El Greco]

But it doesn't keep me from wanting to know why?!

Well, I guess it is one of these multifactorial conditions. There would be a lot of things that contribute to cramps, and studying all of them together would be very hard. For one, we'd have to figure out why do they happen more often in the calves. What's different in the way neurons fire in calves ? What's different in the enzyme concetrations in the muscle cells of the calf ? There would be neurologic, metabolic, mechanical and hormonal factors to consider...

I guess I'll not be the one who'll make that killing selling anti-cramp medicine :D

[Soapy Sam]

I strongly recommend an all over, body-on-body massage, delivered by a well oiled 23 year old nymphette. Guaranteed to work your kinks out.

May not cure cramp of course. But would you care?

[Neutiquam Erro]

My parents, in their late sixties, suffer the usual assortment of maladies. This can be entertaining, actually, since they've never come across a "woo" remedy they wouldn't endorse. Although I did succeed in talking them out of the "penny in a plastic bag of water" that supposedly repels flies, they and all their friends are absolutely committed to placing a bar of Ivory soap in their beds to prevent night-time leg cramps.

I'm no cynic, so I wouldn't simply dismiss this outright, but I've not seen any critical study of this practice. In fact, the only references I've found are on the expected Natural Healing boards.

Has anyone here ever heard of this?

[El Greco]

placing a bar of Ivory soap in their beds to prevent night-time leg cramps.

I'm no cynic, so I wouldn't simply dismiss this outright, but I've not seen any critical study of this practice.

If we're going to go with undocumented practices then I much prefer Soapy Sam's treatment.

[clarsct]

Indeed.

Ivory soap?

Bah, bring on the nymphettes!

[Soapy Sam]

Undocumented?

I have all the receipts for tax purposes.

[Kumar]

Can we relate Mg & phos. with all cramps?

[Freethinker]

placing a bar of Ivory soap in their beds to prevent night-time leg cramps.
......

Has anyone here ever heard of this?

Dr. Peter Gott, who writes a syndicated medical column, has collected quite a few anecdotal success stories. He's a pretty down to earth doctor who isn't afraid to call a crackpot a crackpot. His take on it could be summed up as: It appears to work for some people, and it can't hurt anything.

[kuroyume0161]

This idea of insufficient water and possibly too much salt in the diet (damned frozen salt licks!) has come to my attention today in a very painful way. I had a lump around the kidney area for the past couple weeks - no idea what it was. Slight pain once in a while, but not painful to touch; until today when a sudden urge to urinate ended in groans for ten minutes.

Welcome to kidney stone land!

You think occassional calf muscle cramps are bad (and I used to get those when a kid going to sleep - but being on the top bunk doesn't assist matters!), try a kidney stone. :(