Cramp

[Fish]

Woke up at around 4am and did the tired stretch only then to fall out of bed rolling around the floor with the biggest attack of cramp I have ever experienced in my calf, I thought I had been shot, the pain was excruciating!

I can't remember ever experiencing cramp in my calf's never mind such pain as that, Its not like I don't walk a lot or exercise that much, I'm always on my feet playing a course or walking Max so why

The only thing that was different yesterday was I wore my new Puma Monolites, the first time I've worn spikeless shoes, which were so comfy, but surely what you wear can't have such a bearing, or any?

Still a bit tender this morning and I have a match soon so smothered in Voltarol. What with my arm as well, I think my body might be trying to tell me something :mmm:

How do I loosen my calf's up for later?

 

[Oddsocks]

Cramp comes from low salt/potassium levels, I found this when I used to race long distance motorcycle events,

The biggest source for this as a quick fix is salted nuts or salted crisps, bananas also contain high levels. Stretch out and get some salts into your body...

You may find the recent warm spell coupled with the amount of golf/walking you do has slightly dehydrated your body and tapped on your potassium levels.

 

[glynntaylor]

Robin,

Check out this

http://m.wikihow.com/Eliminate-Leg-Cramps-at-Night

Oddsocks is right but there maybe some cures here that can help.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Isn't tonic water supposed to help also ?

 

[ManinBlack]

MY wife drinks tonic water & swears it helps.

 

[Andy]

As long as the is plenty Tanqueray 10 in the tonic lol

 

[Oddsocks]

The best combination I found was one I got from a sports nutritionist and personal trainer.

1 litre of pure fruit juice (orange, apple, grapefruit) this gives natural sugars and energy
1 litre of water - hydration
2 tea spoons of sugar - energy
1 tea spoon of salt - potassium

This made two litres of hydration juice and this would get me through a 2 hour event, ok a loaded up on it the Saturday before and would drink only water from the Wednesday to hydrate fully.

 

[Fish]

A lot of the above makes sense, I usually always carry at least 2 x 500ml of squash but was running late and didn't take on any fluids during my round yesterday and then had a few beers (unlike me) in the glorious sunshine, think I dehydrated my body.

Will get some bananas on the way to club and take on a load of squash and salted nuts.

Cheers, don't want to experience that again, it really was very painful and HID wasn't too impressed at 4am with me rolling around the floor like Robben :smirk:

 

[Deleted member 15344]

A lot of the above makes sense, I usually always carry at least 2 x 500ml of squash but was running late and didn't take on any fluids during my round yesterday and then had a few beers (unlike me) in the glorious sunshine, think I dehydrated my body.

Will get some bananas on the way to club and take on a load of squash and salted nuts.

Cheers, don't want to experience that again, it really was very painful and HID wasn't too impressed at 4am with me rolling around the floor like Robben :smirk:

Yep not drinking fluids then beers will certainly dehydrate you and give you cramps

 

[Oddsocks]

Yep not drinking fluids then beers will certainly dehydrate you and give you cramps

Will also give a head ache that does not resemble a hang over but hurts like a biatch!

 

[AmandaJR]

I occasionally get calf cramp at night and used to always get them when tapering for a marathon - bad timing!

What helps after the event is to make yourself get up and do plenty of calf stretches before going back to bed. You'll find them uncomfortable as you'll feel the tightness from the contracted muscle but keep stretching until it eases off. Rub some voltarol or ibuleve into the muscle and it will feel less sore the next morning.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I get this once in a while. Some good stuff from the sages. Think mine is a dehydration issue as it usually occurs in the summer, playing in the hot and maybe inputting the wrong type of fuel in the 19th

 

[daymond]

I suffer most nights from cramp in both ankles/feet. It starts with a tingling sensation in the leg and progresses to a contraction in the side of the leg which forces the ankle inwards. Very painful and is only mitigated by standing on the balls of the feet but often repeats as soon as I get back into bed.
Will try some of the foregoing 'cures'

 

[NorfolkShaun]

I know it has been mentioned but the answer is to drink plenty of tonic water, this is prevention rather than cure though.

 

[macca64]

get in my thigh, always the right one, god its bloody painful, missus goes mad when I'm rolling about in bed like a dying salmon.

 

[Foxholer]

There are actually commercial electrolyte drinks - Gatorade for example - that provide a balanced quickly absorbable mixture.

Bananas are certainly a source of Potassium - a hugely important element for proper muscle/nerve function and glucose balancing. It's possible to OD on Potassium, but unlikely simply with bananas - you would need to eat a huge number to get into that area!

Good old Salt (Sodium Chloride) is surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) helpful too. So while cutting down salt intake is good for long term health, completely eliminating salt is not a great idea.