Cramps: What a Pain
If you have ever done any extensive form of endurance training or exercising, chances are you may have experienced this pain at one time or another. Matter of fact, it is reported that almost everyone experiences this soreness at some time in their life. To be exact, about 95% of people have experienced this form of misery. It is a pain that is almost indescribable and immediately makes you stop what you are doing and can even make you collapse to the ground in agony. This torture can occur at any time, lasting from just a few seconds up to fifteen minutes. While this pain can affect many muscles such as the hands, feet, arms and abdomen, the most common muscles affected are the leg muscles, more specifically, the calves and thighs. Whether you are running, walking, swimming, cycling, exercising or even sitting or sleeping, this torment can strike at any moment. This anguish is caused when a muscle involuntarily contracts and stays contracted for an extended period of time. This pain is commonly known as the cramp.
What makes matters worse is that there is no scientific answer as to why we may cramp up in the first place. There are many debates between doctors on what the main cause of cramps may be. Doctors’ suggested reasons range from lack of fluids, to lack of electrolytes or possibly even an imbalance of nerve signals causing an extended muscle contraction although none of these suggestions have been proven to be the outright cause of the common cramp.
While the underlying reason for cramping has yet to be determined, there are some suggested ways to help prevent that agonizing pain from occurring. The most common suggestions are fairly simple: hydrate, warm-up and stretch before performing any form of exercise. It is always a good idea to be hydrated before participating in any vigorous activity. Not only may this prevent cramping but it will also help prevent dehydration. A warm-up could consist of walking or lightly jogging and stretching should be focused toward the muscles you are about to use. The more common stretches focus on the calves, hamstrings and quadriceps. By following these steps, your muscles will be better prepared for the strenuous activity you are about to put them through and should help prevent cramping.
If you are unfortunate enough to suffer from a cramp, there are a few things you can do to help relieve the pain. First and foremost, stop the activity you were just performing that caused the cramp. By doing this, it may help relieve the pain just by ceasing the activity. If the cramp continues, attempt to gently stretch and massage the cramping muscle until the contracting muscle relaxes and the pain from the cramp dissipates. If the muscle continues to feel tight or tense, apply heat. If the muscle feels sore or tender, apply cold.
Use these helpful tips in preventing and treating those inconvenient muscle cramps. If you are lucky, maybe you can avoid those pesky cramps all-together but if not, hopefully now you are better prepared the next time a cramp becomes a pain.
Sources
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. (2007, July). Muscle Cramp. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from http://www.orthoinfo.org/
Gornel MD, MPH, Daniel. Medicinenet. (2008, February 1). Muscle Cramps (of Skeletal Muscles). Retrieved March 11, 2008, from http://www.medicinenet.com/
Kolata, Gina. The New York Times. (2008, February 14). A Long Running Mystery, the Common Cramp. Retrieved March 11, 2008, from http://www.nytimes.com/
