Cramp whilst riding and after!

lee170

I suffer from really painful cramp towards the end of a ride and after the ride to, sometimes I can't move just locked up,thighs and calfs solid. I know it has a little to do with fitness but I am reasonably fit, commute 30 miles a day to and from work. I drink plenty of fluids including electrolytes.
I get cramp of the toes quite alot to, sometimes just when lay in bed or sat down.
Does anyone else suffer with cramp bad who has maybe tried some other products to alleviate cramp

Any help is very much appreciated

Lee

Chunkers1980

I'd see your doc.

lee170

I have, they just say that I need to up my fluid intake which is rubbish

YeehaaMcgee

could be too many electrolytes, counter-intuitively.

beancounter

I used to suffer cramp after rides, especially calves.

I read that it might be due to a mineral deficiency so I started taking a daily multi-vitamin/multi-mineral supplement.

No cramp since.

HTH

bc

anj132

I have always suffered from cramps too. I want to blame it partly on genetics considering my brother suffers a lot from it as well.

Fitness for me plays a big part in it and usually happens when I'm getting tired. I use to get it a lot playing football, over stretching when jumping use to do it.

People use to say it's a lack of salt in my diet but I never found eating salty foods helped. What did help was having electrolyte drinks before and during exercise and also a couple of bananas before as well. You say plenty but what is plenty? I would have a whole electrolyte drink 5/10 minutes before a game.

I might give the multi-vitamin one a go.

YeehaaMcgee

anj132 wrote:

People use to say it's a lack of salt in my diet but I never found eating salty foods helped. What did help was having electrolyte drinks before and during exercise and also a couple of bananas before as well. You say plenty but what is plenty? I would have a whole electrolyte drink 5/10 minutes before a game.

The salty food thing is common, and a slight misconception. Cramps occur (to th ebest of my knowledge) because of an imbalance of salts in the muscles. I believe it can occur with too little, or too much.
Anyway, salts does not neccesarilly mean table salt.
Potassium, magnesium, etc etc are all salts, and you get a mix of these in sports drinks, or through a varied diet.

njee20

Elete water in your drink works really well for me, better than Zym/Nuun/High5 Zero etc. Or calcium/magnesium/zinc (in one) tablets from Holland & Barrett.

YeehaaMcgee

my sister's given me a magnesium spray, which stops cramp prety much immediately for me (seems my cramps are mostly magnesium deficiencies), almost every time. The label's worn off, so I have no idea where she got it.

lee170

I to suffered with cramp playing football matches, towards the end when fatigue kicks in, whilst riding I suffer cramp once tired but it wasn't for the cramps I could carry on for miles more.
I will give the magnesium tablets a go and look up elete water. I have also heard that pickle juice eleviates cramp instantly to, but have never seen it on sale anywhere!

YeehaaMcgee

Pickled what?
You tend to pickle things in vinegar or alchohol, I think. I can't see how either of those would help.

lee170

Do a google search for cramp whilst cycling, quite a lot mention pickle juice!!
Can't imagine it would taste nice either

YeehaaMcgee

Pickled eggs? Pickled gerkins? Pickled chilli? Branston pickle? Pickled beetroot?

lee170

No idea, they just say pickle juice, there is a company in the u.s that sell sport pickle juice!

YeehaaMcgee

lee170 wrote:

there is a company in the u.s that sell sport pickle juice!

Tht doesn't mean it works. I may well mean, however, that they also own a metric fukkton of other "independent" websites, that are basically loosely covered marketing echo-chambers used to evangelise heir wares.

njee20

Well don't the US call gherkins 'pickles'?

Gherkin juice sounds vile though!

Tonic water works for some - contains quinine.

Edit: here it is, it is indeed effectively gherkin juice! :shock:



Sod that.

YeehaaMcgee

njee20 wrote:

Well don't the US call gherkins 'pickles'?

You're shi**ing me?
What the hell do they call other pickled things then?

Tonic water's a good shout, I keep forgetting it has quinine in it - and that quinine is on of the things that a doctor will prescribe towards bad nighttime cramps.

Vegman

Over the years I have come to the conclusion that If I cramp whist riding it's usually because I've been pushing it a bit hard in too high a gear, or my legs have got too cold. Drinking the right stuff pre, during, and post ride are also important.
For me, if I think its going to be a tough route or I'm going to push it, then pre ride I'll drink a half pint of fully skimmed milk, during the ride my usual fruit juice water and a pinch of salt, luckily for me this combination sits ok in my tum! it may not for all.
Post ride, skimmed milk again usually up to one pint, this can count as part of my evening meal as it's quite filling and I often only get to ride after work and before an evening meal. Fortunately I am not lactose intollerent.

Also absolutely no alchohol.
This works 99% of the time for me, but that 1%..... oh my words it stuffin hurts.

Lagrange

Cramp is due to conductivity probs in the spine. Potassium and Sodium ions as you would get in salt - and electrolytes would improve conductivity. Maybe too much is not good for you. In regards to fitness issues the doc may not be the best person to spk to.

danm99

I dont suffer personally but when I used to Scuba dive a lot everyone used to swear by banannas to prevent cramp.

tuxpoo

lee170 wrote:

I suffer from really painful cramp towards the end of a ride and after the ride to, sometimes I can't move just locked up,thighs and calfs solid. I know it has a little to do with fitness but I am reasonably fit, commute 30 miles a day to and from work. I drink plenty of fluids including electrolytes.
I get cramp of the toes quite alot to, sometimes just when lay in bed or sat down.
Does anyone else suffer with cramp bad who has maybe tried some other products to alleviate cramp

Any help is very much appreciated

Lee

I had this and messed about with electrolytes, calcium, potassium etc even carefully ensured i was hydrating correctly. Eventually I found the cause.. not getting enough carbs while riding. Normally can start after about 2-3 hours if Im not eating enough while riding. But can be quickly resolved by upping my mixture. If I leave it i can end up crippled with pain for days.

Rule of thumb is if the cramps are in the working muscles, its fatigue/glycygen related.
If its in other areas then its hydration/electrolyte problem.

Thats what I found.

Tux

YeehaaMcgee

Interesting information, Tux.

lee170

Tux,
Thanks for the help
(And everyone else to for that matter)
It is definitely in the working muscles. Just legs(calfs,quads,hamstrings) sometimes toes
I have since realised that I ain't putting enough sachets into bladder!! In use sis sachets but only put 1-2 in a 2 litre bladder.
Will try upping the sachets and eating more, I generally eat bananas, raisins, flapjacks whilst riding.
Are there any others that are vital or would help,
I only ride leisurely not competitively but like to ride all out. Average around 15-20 miles on a regular Sunday morning outing.
Dalbys 23 mile route really sets the cramp in around the 15-18 mile mark. Then I can barely ride or move for the rest of the ride!!