Exercise Induced Calf Cramps

esjones12

I have issues with calf cramps. I'm not talking just some pain, I'm talking on the ground all but crying, calf twitching with a tennis ball sized knot in it, calf cramps. If I get a full blown one I am limping for 2-3 days. I've been doing research online and forming some ideas/tactics but wanted some personal input from people who have have had success dealing with something similar.

And since these questions may come up....Most but not all of mine come during strenuous activity, but always during activity. I average 2000-3000mg of sodium a day. Water intake: 8+ cups on rest days, 10-15 on workout days. I take and have experimented with electrolytes, salt tabs, and recovery powders. And I've even eaten an ungodly amount of bananas before events. I stretch, foam roll and warm up/cool down. I've been working on building up the length and intensity of my workouts to prep the muscles.

But really I can google just as well as anyone else. I am looking for personal stories and how you have dealt with them/what worked for you. Thanks!

Ninkyou

It could be a case of too much too soon.

This was my experience. Pretty much trying to go from 0 to 60 and expecting my body to actually do it. Well, it didn't and doesn't work that way. I had to put on the brakes and go slower and build up over time. I was only even trying to jog lightly and I would get severe calf cramps which made it where I could barely even walk. In my case, like I said, it was too much too soon. I dialed it back to just walking and I walked and walked for months. And then finally I was able to start running for short spurts (think c25k). After that it was like the flood gates opened.

erickirb

I would suggest increasing potassium, your sodium/potassium balance matters more than your actual sodium intake. I find more protein tends to help as well.

If all else fails try visiting or talking to massage therapist, physiotherapist, dietitian, kinesiologist, have blood work done, etc

dbmata

I increased my Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, and Sodium levels, then I stretch them.

It's interesting when you can watch muscles actively cramping up.

365andstillalive

It sounds like you've done some great googling, but have you spoken to someone like a physio or athletic therapist? It sounds like you're doing a lot of the recommendations they would have (proper stretching and foam rolling for sure) but they may have a series of exercises which could help strengthen specific muscles/ligaments so that less stress is being placed on the ones that are spasming?

Kind of a different scenario, I didn't start having problems with leg cramping until after I had surgery to fix some tearing to the meniscus and ligaments in my knee but like you I tried everything, including obscene amounts of bananas haha. After dealing with it on my own for about 4 months, I finally limped back to my old PT who after assessing me figured out that I was lacking muscle mass in certain sections of my leg, which was over stressing some of the muscles through my calf. He put together an exercise plan for me (which yes, included lots of stretching) and ended up having me tape my knee to do certain activities to help with the strain on it while I built back muscle.

It doesn't sound like you've had a specific injury, but a friend of mine who had never injured her leg started having the same problem with intense cramping through her calves and when she eventually got referred out to a PT they told her that she had over-trained certain muscles accidentally while not training others which created weakness and eventually a lot of strain on the muscles she was training.

Worth looking into if nothing else; I really hope you can get some answers!

krokador

You may have restrictions/weaknesses around the ankles that cause your calves to tighten up to compensate?

I rarely get cramps anymore, but my calves are always super tight and I know my ROM is somewhat limited at the ankle level (and the worst part is, it radiates all the way to the knees, too). Foam rolling (and lax ball trigger point work) helps to a point. Ankle and hip mobility exercises help loosen up the leg. Electrolytes prior to exercising and during also seem to make a difference. And properly warming up before getting into any plyometrics/jumping is critical.

Hope that helps.

McCloud33

I got them a lot back in High School and have started getting them again now that I'm dropping closer to my goal weight. I agree with @erickirb that your sodium/potassium balance really matters. And it's not just on the days that you're doing the strenuous activities. The ratio should be almost 3:2 potassium to sodium. Most veggies are high in potassium as well as you bananas and pineapple and other fruits.

esjones12

@erickirb and @McCloud33 - It looks like I’m averaging more of a 1:1 ratio on potassium and sodium. I’ll definitely try to increase my potassium. Easy cheap fix (hopefully)!

@dbmata‌ - I hear you can see it twitching like crazy. I am usually on my back trying to get someone to apply pressure to it and taking deep breaths while trying not to cry out in pain lol.

@365andstiallalive and @krokador – I could definitely have some imbalances. Between riding horse, playing soccer, doing obstacle course races/training, and trail running it wouldn't surprise me. I am finally able to go back to a massage therapist on a somewhat regular basis. She told me my whole body is a mess but I’ll talk to her about my calves/legs in particular. I’ll also scratch my personal trainer’s brain to see if we can identify a possible weak part of my lower leg to try and build up. If that doesn't help I’ll definitely be seeing a physical therapist, etc.

I also had someone message me saying how their shoes made a difference. Was an interesting point, and I would think could play into a muscle imbalance. I do tend to wear lots of different shoes between work (flats, boots, heels), gym shoes, soccer cleats, barn boots, and trail running shoes.

joneallen

I used to get them bad when I started running. I started foam rolling them twice a day and stretching them before and after I ran. They eventually went away.

Cherimoose

Set a timer to remind you stretch your calves every 30 minutes, for 30+ seconds, for 2 straight days. If that helps, your cramps are from tight calves. Electrolytes can't flow through tight muscles as easily, which causes cramping. Long-term solution is frequent stretching, wearing a night splint to stretch the calves while you sleep, and wearing zero-drop footwear all the time.

esjones12

Wednesday I was on the ground with a good calf cramp towards the end of my 2 hours of soccer. I am still limping from it. The whole past week I was focused on drinking more water and did tons more foam rolling. This afternoon I saw a Sports Medicine doctor. I had blood drawn to check for nutrient deficiencies and muscle breakdown. I'm to focus more on hydration and protein intake and be careful with the foam rolling (something about muscle breakdown). If blood work comes back fine I could be experiencing Overtraining Syndrome (OTS). Which would require rest and restructuring of my training. There are other pretty serious issues he mentioned but their diagnosis require extensive testing and the others are easier to rule out (and are more likely). Hopefully getting blood work back on Monday and making a plan from there.

365andstillalive

Glad to hear you're starting to get some answers! Hopefully you'll have something definite soon.

softblondechick

I have had those. The pain is crazy. You can't walk it out...I heard it was lack of potassium...have added eating bananas every other day.

esjones12

Blood work came back normal, as I figured. Upon detailed inspection I realized I was doing 8-10 hours a week of high intensity exercises that pounded my legs. Most times I had a weight vest on or was using weights. AKA - I was overloading my poor body and it was beginning to break. I have rewritten my schedule for the next 6 weeks (till my first OCR this season). It scares me to cut out some running/HIIT and replace it with swimming and biking. However, to continue as I was my calves would have gotten worse and I would have been missing tons of training sessions anyways.

Trail and error. Life is all about balance!

Cherimoose

Did you try the stretching protocol i posted?

girlwithcurls2

Cherimoose wrote: »

Did you try the stretching protocol i posted?

I second the stretching. What do you recommend for zero drop footwear? I have plantar fasciitis that I've spent the last 9 months treating. I'm desperate to run and dance. I started running one day a week and dance one day a week, but my foot is talking to me. Quietly, but I'm listening. Any suggestions on shoes? I'm on concrete floors all day and it's brutal. I've been wearing Crocs since about October. They're damn ugly, but they sure feel good.

mirrors2001au

This happened to me a few years ago, started using foam roller and also Google trigger point therapy / tptherapy / YouTube and see the calf treatment that work the Knotts out using two balls, works really well

mehdanno

i know what you mean! i don't get cramps in my legs so much as my feet and it seems to come from exercise. nothing too excessive but like being on the elliptical a few days a week for 20-30 minutes would increase my getting foot cramps like 70%, i drink a lot of v8 for potassium and i enjoy a moderate amount of salt in food say 3000 or so. i have always wondered why i get these foot cramps and i have tried a lot of things to relieve them. even more strange is the cramping gets worse over time. i would love to be able to exercise for an hour or more every day but because of the foot cramping i am limited severely. it sucks! if anyone has any ideas i'd love to hear it but i'm with you. i put it down to my body type, the soles of my feel tend to get fatigued much easier than you average person. i have much sympathy for the frustration that you're going through.

esjones12

mirrors2001au wrote: »

This happened to me a few years ago, started using foam roller and also Google trigger point therapy / tptherapy / YouTube and see the calf treatment that work the Knotts out using two balls, works really well

Doctor actually told me to stop foam rolling so much. Apparently you can do damage to the muscles if doing it excessively. For me, even with two days a week off my muscles had no time to recover properly.

@mehdonna have you gotten checked out by anyone? You can see all sorts of people. Heck my massage therapist suggested chiropractic work for my calves. Don't stop searching till you have answers. You may want to consult a podiatrist.

And yes I do stretch a lot. I cant stretch at work every 30min. But I will take every chance I get.

Cherimoose

esjones12 wrote: »

And yes I do stretch a lot. I cant stretch at work every 30min. But I will take every chance I get.

So does it help? If so, i'd wear a night splint to stretch your calves while you sleep. Get one that can adjust below 90 degrees like this:
amazon.com/Adjustable-Plantar-Fasciitis-Splint-Medium/dp/B006L8N71Y

girlwithcurls2 wrote: »

What do you recommend for zero drop footwear? I have plantar fasciitis that I've spent the last 9 months treating. I'm desperate to run and dance. I started running one day a week and dance one day a week, but my foot is talking to me. Quietly, but I'm listening. Any suggestions on shoes? I'm on concrete floors all day and it's brutal. I've been wearing Crocs since about October. They're damn ugly, but they sure feel good.

Nurses seem to like Danskos. I don't think they're zero drop, but that shouldn't affect your P.F. much, which is more about arch flexibility than heel height. Try to stretch your plantar fascia hourly - instructions are on Youtube.

dawnmcneil10

I haven't had this particular issue but a friend of mine has, he started eating bing cherries in the evenings about an hour before going to bed. There's something in the cherries that help to relax the muscles, I'm sure a google search on them will lead you somewhere helpful on the why's.

esjones12

Cherimoose wrote: »

esjones12 wrote: »

And yes I do stretch a lot. I cant stretch at work every 30min. But I will take every chance I get.

So does it help? If so, i'd wear a night splint to stretch your calves while you sleep. Get one that can adjust below 90 degrees like this:
amazon.com/Adjustable-Plantar-Fasciitis-Splint-Medium/dp/B006L8N71Y

Since increasing stretching (outside of my usual stretching) I have not had a strenuous enough workout that would cause one of my cramps. Tomorrow will be the test with back to back soccer games. Though I have a feeling if they don't cramp it will be because my calves have had a chance to recover for once. To be honest that contraption looks scary. Considering I don't have Plantar Fascitis I would want to consult a doctor about using a device for something other than it's intended purpose.

In addition to reducing the overall impact on my legs I am being more diligent about hydration and protein. I am also getting compression sleeves to wear during harder workouts. I am hoping this fixes the core problem and provides enough support for me to perform at the top of my game.

If problems persist I have a nice list of other options to try!

@dawnmcneil10 - not that I needed another reason to eat cherries! So the cherries helped reduce calf cramps during intense exercise? I do not get them at night ever....

jacksonpt

I've gotten some pretty awful ones during races (think hot weather, lots of sweating, etc). I've had best results keeping my fluid levels moderate and my sodium intake high during training/racing.

Everyone is different, so take this with a grain of salt (pun intended), but you drink roughly 2x what I do and take in roughly have the sodium.

My completely subjective opinion is that you need sodium levels in muscle tissue, and too much fluids can actually be problematic. I reduced my fluids and increased my sodium going into last season and had no problem with cramping and PRed every race.

esjones12

You drink less than 8 cups of water a day? Even with exercise? I would assume the blood work I had done checked my sodium levels and the doctor cleared my results *shrug* I would trust those compared to my MFP averaging.

But I will definitely still be playing around with banana's, salt tabs, and electrolytes. The races I do are definitely very strenuous and I have a feeling cramps during most of them will be inevitable. I just can't have them happening during training as often as they had been. Too many days off.

Got any high sodium, low calorie foods you like?

jacksonpt

FWIW, I only care about it the day before and the day of a race. Day to day I pay no attention to sodium or water intake, though my normal tendency is for very low water consumption and very high sodium intake.

I've moved to drink mix and gels with the highest sodium and caffeine quantities I can find. That ends up being powerbar gels and scratch labs drink mix.

hermann341

I had calf cramps due to compartment syndrome in my calves. I had been working out too hard when I started running, and my calf muscles bulked up too quickly (like over a 4 month period). Stretching helped, but I had to rest my calves for several weeks the last time I had cramps, and then had to proceed very slowly with increasing my speed and endurance once the soreness went away enough. I had to go to a sports medicine doctor for the diagnosis, at which time he pointed out I was also getting stress fractures in my shins from the muscles pulling the bone apart.

snowflake954

For me stretching and potassium worked. I stretch 45 min, 3 mornings a week.

esjones12

hermann341 wrote: »

I had calf cramps due to compartment syndrome in my calves. I had been working out too hard when I started running, and my calf muscles bulked up too quickly (like over a 4 month period). Stretching helped, but I had to rest my calves for several weeks the last time I had cramps, and then had to proceed very slowly with increasing my speed and endurance once the soreness went away enough. I had to go to a sports medicine doctor for the diagnosis, at which time he pointed out I was also getting stress fractures in my shins from the muscles pulling the bone apart.

That is one of the possibilities my Sports Med doctor mentioned. Were you actually tested for it? Mine said it involved getting a needle stuck in your calf to measure the pressure, then running on a treadmill and then sticking your calf again. It sounded awful. He said it was something we would look into if decreasing the impact I was putting on my legs did not help. He was pretty sure it was overtraining syndrome (OTS) vs compartment syndrome. I'm crossing my fingers he is right.

jacksonpt - Ah! That explains it lol. Salt tabs do seem to help me during races. I just don't always have them available. I'm thinking of wearing a small fuel belt for shorter races I don't have my camelback on for.

ekat120

I had some issues that I figured out were due to a new pair of shoes (the cute ones in my profile pic ). Research has failed to find a connection between hydration/electrolytes and exercise-induced muscle cramps.

sunglasses_and_ocean_waves

When I first got onto my cancer med, my calves would ball up like you describe. I was in so much pain one night, I fell out of bed. Ugh. Partially getting used to the med helped, but the other part was eating more potassium and stretching my calves any chance I got throughout the day. Good luck. I know how painful this is =(

hermann341

esjones12 wrote: »

hermann341 wrote: »

I had calf cramps due to compartment syndrome in my calves. I had been working out too hard when I started running, and my calf muscles bulked up too quickly (like over a 4 month period). Stretching helped, but I had to rest my calves for several weeks the last time I had cramps, and then had to proceed very slowly with increasing my speed and endurance once the soreness went away enough. I had to go to a sports medicine doctor for the diagnosis, at which time he pointed out I was also getting stress fractures in my shins from the muscles pulling the bone apart.

That is one of the possibilities my Sports Med doctor mentioned. Were you actually tested for it? Mine said it involved getting a needle stuck in your calf to measure the pressure, then running on a treadmill and then sticking your calf again. It sounded awful. He said it was something we would look into if decreasing the impact I was putting on my legs did not help. He was pretty sure it was overtraining syndrome (OTS) vs compartment syndrome. I'm crossing my fingers he is right.

jacksonpt - Ah! That explains it lol. Salt tabs do seem to help me during races. I just don't always have them available. I'm thinking of wearing a small fuel belt for shorter races I don't have my camelback on for.

I did not get the needle test. The doctor (an orthopedist recommended by another doctor) took some x-rays and by process of elimination based on history and symptoms and what I had been doing to that point to correct it, determined it was the overtraining version of compartment syndrome. I had been pretty sedentary and weighed 260 lbs when I started running, and just plain overdid it. It took about a year after the diagnosis for the soreness to subside to a point I felt like I could train at a higher level. Three years after the diagnosis, I'm feeling fine.