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What causes calves to spasm?

Yogi_Carl
Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
edited January 1 in Fitness and Exercise
3am and I am woken by the most excruciating pain as my right calf slowly contracts and then keeps on contracting until I am gasping and then relaxes slowly straight after. It is 7am now and I can feel where the spasm occured but there is no damage - I can stretch it back out fine.

What causes that?

Not enough water or not enough water with a pinch of salt replacement?

You could say it is because I do home aerobics barefoot but it is certainly not a muscle tear and I run barefoot so I am used to landing gently.

I also cycled to work yesterday and then did Insanity's Pure Cardio that evening.

Strange feeling - doesn't happen often.

Replies

  • skywa
    skywa Posts: 901 Member
    It could be potassium levels...or even excess lactic acid from working out. O:

    Try stretching the muscle more and maybe taking a look at what your eating. Are you eating enough potassium? If not, maybe try to fix that.
  • SomeoneSomeplace
    SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
    I used to get these all the time.

    At night if you stand up on them it helps it stop spasming, or at least it did for me.

    The reason I was getting them was because I wasn't getting enough potassium I started taking supplements that contain P and eating bananas. It can also be due to dehydration. I've also heard that stretching can help prevent this type of pain as well.
  • blackcoffeeandcherrypie
    blackcoffeeandcherrypie Posts: 486 Member
    Apparently cyclists can be prone to it - something about the way we exert downwards pressure while the foot is pointed downwards. I had a spell of it last year and it was awful, but it's stopped since I started running.
  • Trechechus
    Trechechus Posts: 2,819 Member
    Sounds like a Charlie Horse. Could be potassium, sodium or calcium levels or sudden changes in temperature. Make sure you stretch well. Maybe even stretch before you go to bed.
  • mikejacobs1958
    mikejacobs1958 Posts: 128
    I agree with the above, low potassium levels.
    Can be caused by lots of reasons, even affects some ladies TOM during heavy blood loss.

    Salt is the old remedy, can do more damage than good.
    Potassium can be obtained from your local pharmacist or even speak to your Doctor.

    good luck.
    Mike
  • spozzybear
    spozzybear Posts: 216 Member
    I get these quite a lot. Not really sure what causes them, as I have tried upping my potassium and it didn't help me, but I do know that while it's actually happening, you need to stretch your heel down (away from you). This makes it even more painful at the time and is hard to force yourself to do, but it means the spasming will stop sooner and you won't feel sore the next day from it.
    I am lucky to have a husband who literally leaps out of bed the second I start yelling and forces my heel down to stretch it out.
  • Harlequin16
    Harlequin16 Posts: 102 Member
    Mine were from low sodiums levels?
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Thanks for rapid responses friends.

    It could well by a loss of potassium through heavy sweating ( I cycled and did one of the Insanity modules last night) I did drink and stretch afterward but if I was low in solutes that would explain it. A lot of the Insanity DVDs are springing movements which involve coming off a poited foot and landing through the foot toe first so that would explain things as well; although there is no damage.

    I have decided to ditch the Insanity workouts because I just don't like the high content of plyometrics - even in Pure Cardio you end up pushing out ballistic pushups and jumping off the ground at insane speeds - well it is Insanity!
  • spozzybear
    spozzybear Posts: 216 Member
    Mine were from low sodiums levels?

    That actually makes a lot of sense! I eat almost no sodium!
  • Colorfan
    Colorfan Posts: 230 Member
    I started having this problem after starting a diet and exercising. Im not sure which of either of these is responsible, but Im guessing it may be the diet. I reduced my sodium intake, and high carb fruit like bananas (so I wasnt getting as much potassium as I was).

    I find having a bit more salt with my foods helps a lot. Even just eating a pickle spear, or mixing a bouillon cube with some hot water and make a "chicken tea" will keep your calories down and get you that extra sodium your body needs.
  • RubyRubixcube
    RubyRubixcube Posts: 258 Member
    tasers
  • leesehm
    leesehm Posts: 117
    it sounds like muscle cramp. they still dont know what causes it. probably a multitude of factors. sometimes its magnesium not potassium. try your pharmacy they may have a mix that you can use.
    could also be overload - if you have recently increased your workload. meaning you have weak calves (and need to strengthen your calf muscles), or else another muscle like your gluts may not be doing much, causing you calves to work harder than usual (so you need to strengthen your gluts).
  • UncleRiotous
    UncleRiotous Posts: 69
    I ride for about 60-90 mins a day most days and I started to find I was getting cramp in my calves on occasion. I'm now having a banana after a serious ride (unless I'm going to eat dinner shortly after I finish) and increasing the salt in what I eat on days when I know I'm going to be sweating hard.

    Since I started doing that I haven't cramped at all.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    Magnesium helps your body to make use of sodium and potassium.

    I wondered how I could be having terrible foot cramps start moving up into the calves, with as much sodium and potassium I made sure I got after long rides.

    1 day taking magnesium supplement, the ride the next day the sweat was not like salt and didn't sting eyes, and despite 98 F ride, no cramping during ride or after.

    Foot cramps stopped.

    MFP doesn't track that, so I added up typical day to see vast shortage of it in diet.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    check your electrolyte levels and potassium.

    i used to get calf spasms (and eye lid spasms) but these have all stopped since i've started eating more bananas and drinking a cup of coconut water on days i workout
  • grim_traveller
    grim_traveller Posts: 625 Member
    Charlie horse. I would get these a lot, and started drinking Powerade Zero after working hard and sweating. It got rid of 95 per cent of the charlie horses. It replaces the potassium and fluid you lost.
  • marikevr
    marikevr Posts: 389 Member
    I agree with Heybales regarding the magnesuim. I am a distance runner and take magnesium and supplement the rest with bananas. Also, if I have done a very long run I will use an oral rehydration mixture afterwards such as Rehidrat. It contains most of the electrolytes that you need.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    Electrolyte levels are one possibility.
    Micro-partitioning from exercise where swelling is doing some pressing can be another.
    Keep hydrated and electrolytes up, especially after long efforts. Take vitamins. I ate lots of bananas - sometimes that helped sometimes it did not.
    Stretching, ice and ibuprofen can reduce cramp strength and frequency (ibu and coffee can increase them if you are not hydrated)
    Lots of medications will increase cramping including some eye drops.

    If they continue, see a doctor, there are several medical conditions that are first seen through cramping including blood flow, kidney and thyroid diseases. Note, this should not be even a minor concern at this time as non-specific cramping is very common.

    Guess who suffered from leg cramps for years? :sad:
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Timing is everything..........this article appeared in my newsfeed from runnersworld.com and I thought it may be helpful


    http://beginners.runnersworld.com/2012/10/help-my-calves-are-cramping.html?cm_mmc=NL-Beginners-_-1075682-_-10172012-_-Help!-My-Calves-Are-Cramping!
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    It's cramp, I get it really badly at around the same time at night after a long run or... too much wine :blushing:

    Make sure you're properly hydrated, consider switching to Lo-Salt which replaces some of the sodium with potassium, or drink a sports drink with electrolytes - you can get zero calorie versions.
This discussion has been closed.

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