You could be sitting down watching TV or out for your routine jog, and suddenly it hits you: a muscle cramp. It can be so intense that it wakes you from the deepest sleep in severe, agonizing pain. Your muscle contracts, forming a knot in its "belly," and renders you unable to move your leg.
Most of us are not strangers to muscle cramps. Nearly all of us have experienced a bad muscle cramp at one point or another. Some cramps are so forceful that they can leave a soreness that lingers for days afterward. As a practitioner who deals with muscle cramps on a daily basis, I would like to share with you a few simple strategies to prevent them from occurring and minimize their impact when they happen.
In order to effectively treat a muscle cramp, we must fully understand its origin. There are two common reasons people cramp. The first is fluid and electrolyte deficiency, and the second reason is related to muscular health and muscular endurance.
Perhaps the easiest way to control and prevent muscle cramps from occurring is to maintain good fluid intake around all activity times. The term "electrolytes" describes a series of bodily chemicals and minerals that assist in generating energy and providing hydration for all types of muscle tissue in the body. Keeping well-hydrated will ensure your muscles have a good stock of energy to use during exercise.
People participating in sports of an enduring nature such as running, wrestling or tennis are more likely to experience fatigue muscle cramps than people who participate in sports such as golfing, baseball or downhill skiing. This is a direct result of the unique physiological properties of muscle tissue. Every muscle in the body has its own special system designed to detect overstimulation and protect against overexertion.
These special receptors are called mechanical receptors, and in times of high stress they will send warning signals to the brain that portray a message of, "If we continue to work this hard, there is going to be serious damage."
When the brain receives this message, it sends down a signal for all the muscle fibers in the area to contract, forming a hard protective shell around the muscle. This contraction is so strong that it prevents any further motion and, subsequently, any further work by the muscle itself. While this system functions to control excessive workloads, the contraction is so strong that it can cause small amounts of muscle tearing and inflammation, thus the reason for being sore even several days later.
Fortunately, there is a way to reduce and eliminate a muscle cramp when it does occur. More than 90 percent of cramps affect the lower extremity with a vast majority of those affecting the calf (the backside of the lower leg). If you feel a cramp coming on, stop the activity immediately and perform the runner's stretch. Stretching a muscle that is cramping causes the muscle fibers to relax. Relaxation of the muscle will eliminate the cramp. A good stretch should be held for at least 30 seconds and repeated at least two times.
For a severe cramp that does not respond to stretching, or if stretching is too painful, sit on the ground and bring the heel of the cramping legs toward you, bending your knee. Provide horizontal compression to the muscle by grasping around its sides on the inside and outside of the leg and pressing your hands together. Next, slowly pull your toes upward stretching out the back the calf. Do this until the cramp begins to subside.
The best treatment for muscle cramps is prevention, so keep hydrated and stretch before and after exercise. Once a cramp has started though, you need to work quickly to stop it from becoming full-blown — a fast response will prevent it from really "cramping your style."
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Joe DiVincenzo is a physical therapist and clinical specialist in manual therapy. He works in the outpatient division of Beverly Hospital and writes "On the Mend" weekly.¬ Questions may be submitted to On the Mend, c/o Salem News, 32 Dunham Road, Beverly, MA 01915 or e-mail features@eagletribune.com.
