Severe muscle cramps

Sim123one

I get the most unbearable cramps in my calves when I exercise - the worst during my pole dancing classes (I have been pole dancing for about 6 months).

Lately, it has got so so so much worse and i'm now experiencing night cramps too on a frequent basis (also in my calves), which can last up to 3 minutes.

I drink 2 litres of water everyday day. So surely, it can't be dehydration?

I also take magnesium, calcium and vitamin C supplements - which is also not helping. I also stretch my calves out before and after any exercise.

I can't seem to figure out why it is ALWAYS my calves, I've never experienced cramp anywhere else in my body.

Can anyone recommend anything (else) that might help? this is a last minute search for some self-help solutions. I will be going straight to the doctors if this problem persists so please no rude comments!

Thank you

Wilhellmina

Could be you need to drink more during your exercises, it could be a sign of dehydration, or this:

Ensuring adequate dietary intake of the electrolyte minerals(3) – sodium and potassium because they’re involved in conducting electrical signals to/from muscles, and calcium and magnesium, which are essential for the contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers.

Sim123one

Wilhellmina wrote: »

Could be you need to drink more during your exercises, it could be a sign of dehydration, or this:

Ensuring adequate dietary intake of the electrolyte minerals(3) – sodium and potassium because they’re involved in conducting electrical signals to/from muscles, and calcium and magnesium, which are essential for the contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers.

Thank you.

However, like I said, I drink 2 litres of water a day, that includes drinking up to a litre during my exercises, I apologise, I should have made that more clear.

Second point - Yes, I knew that, that's why I am taking calcium and magnesium supplements (please re-read my post)

hermann341

How long have you been working out? When I started running about 3 years ago, I developed compartment syndrome in my calves within 5 months. The major symptom was cramping after running a bit. If you're getting enough electrolytes and still cramping, you should see a doctor.

MakePeasNotWar

You mentioned that you are taking calcium and magnesium, but are you getting enough potassium? I get leg cramps at night and while stretching when my potassium intake is too low.

stealthq

Are you distributing your water throughout the day, or drinking a bunch in one go? You can throw your electrolytes temporarily out of whack by taking in a lot of water at once. Solution to that is to either add a pinch of electrolytes to your water, or to add a splash of a sports drink to your water.

BTW - I feel for you. I was having a problem with foot and toe cramps always at the end of my lifting sessions. Lasted for 5-10min sometimes. For me, they pretty much went away when I started drinking slowly but steadily all day long instead of drinking mostly during my weight session. Taking an Epsom salt bath helped for a couple of days when they got really bad.

Lauren8239

I had the exact same problem. Try magnesium oil/gel. Most magnesium isn't absorbed in pill form, and the oil or gel is applied directly to the skin ( I put it directly on my calves) and the body absorbs it that way. Most health stores have it, or you can get it online. It's made a HUGE difference to me during my workouts.

SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage

Sim123one wrote: »

Wilhellmina wrote: »

Could be you need to drink more during your exercises, it could be a sign of dehydration, or this:

Ensuring adequate dietary intake of the electrolyte minerals(3) – sodium and potassium because they’re involved in conducting electrical signals to/from muscles, and calcium and magnesium, which are essential for the contraction and relaxation of muscle fibers.

Thank you.

However, like I said, I drink 2 litres of water a day, that includes drinking up to a litre during my exercises, I apologise, I should have made that more clear.

Second point - Yes, I knew that, that's why I am taking calcium and magnesium supplements (please re-read my post)

Please re-read HER post. She also mentioned potassium. It's widely known that potassium deficiency causes muscle cramps.

Cherimoose

Sim123one wrote: »

I can't seem to figure out why it is ALWAYS my calves, I've never experienced cramp anywhere else in my body.

Calf muscles are used a lot (walking, etc), so they are prone to getting tight. And they get even tighter from wearing shoes with a raised heel (= most shoes). Tight, dense muscles have reduced blood flow, and electrolytes don't flow in & out as easily - and that causes cramping. The solution for tight muscles is frequent stretching. Try this stretch *every hour* for 30 seconds:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=CkgkmbXz8Mo

Post your results after your next workout.

ATT949

The medical research is brutally clear - barring a very poor diet, muscle cramps are caused by overuse.
It could be caused by potassium or magnesium or the "mineral du l'annee" (people who market supplements generate a new "miracle" substance about every 12 months or so) but research into this issue indicates that cramps in the calf muscle are caused by using the muscle enough so that it temporarily loses the ability to relax.
Simple refutation of the dehydration theory - when your calves cramp, keep exercising and drink water. Betcha your cramps don't go away. Also, people who calf cramp do not show an unusual level of dehydration. (Remember - you don't want to "drink all of the water you've sweated out" and there's no value in "pre-drinking".)

Magnesium or potassium - while you might be "low" on these trace elements, why would only the calf muscle cramp? Why not, say, the heart? Also, if one were to cramp because you were low on these elements, why would massaging the cramped area resolve the issue instead of, perhaps, an injection of those substances into the muscle?

And here's the confounder - why do muscle cramps resolve when the subject drinks…pickle juice?

Having had severe cramping in my quads as a teenager and having been hit by cramps in two Half Marathons, I've looked into this issue and my remedy was to train more, to do a little more training at higher levels of exertion, and, finally, to slow down a few seconds per mile during the race. I DNF'd a Half last October and I cramped in a Half last August but when I ran my Half this year, I was in better shape and started a little slower. The result was an easy run that happened to include a 3 minute PR.

Citations - I've forgotten the specific page but refer to "The Lore of Running" by Dr. Tim Noakes. His research is, as far as I know, unimpeachable and the entire book (it's about 1k pages) is a fascinating look into many aspects of running.

In addition to "it's not Na, K, or Mg", please do not stretch a cold muscle and do not static stretch. In addition to damaging your muscles (by "pulling" a muscle), research indicates that static stretching leads to a measurable and significant loss in power generation.
Further, long distance runners do not need to stretch because we have a very limited range of motion. Sprinters have high knee drive and exaggerated arm swing but, if you look at someone running long, we have a huge number of repetitions of very small movements.
In addition (which comes after "further"), runners do not want elasticity in the bottom of the kinetic chain. When we run, we are propelled, in part, by the "return" of power from the calf muscles and the Achilles which are stretched in one part of the gait cycle but they then recoil, moving us up and forward. If your lower legs are able to stretch, you will lose some of that recoil. This is a very fine point, granted, but it's a clear reason against static stretching.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

smantha32

I've had that problem too. Magnesium, potassium and having shoes with good arch support help me.

Hikr56

I, too, would suggest low potassium and trying a V8 to see if that helps. Good luck!
http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/low-potassium/basics/definition/sym-20050632

sofaking6

I also suggest potassium - I did Atkins once and suddenly I was waking up with awful Charlie horses in my calves every single night. Many times they were so bad I'd be sore the whole next day. Added potassium in and no more problems. Even today I still have a banana and 1/2 avocado almost every day. I mean mostly because they're delicious but also because I never want that situation to hit me again.

singingflutelady

could it be your Achilles?

TheSatinPumpkin

Been taking a glass of Ecodrink every day and been cramp (lower legs/calf/foot etc) free since