Calf Muscle Cramps

Gunnsie
Gunnsie Posts: 171
edited October 2013 in Training, fitness and health
Hi All,

I suffer badly with severe cramps in my calf muscles, which is starting to have an affect on my cycling.
Majority of the time I seem to get them during the night, when they wake me up in agony, but recently I have started getting them whilst cycling, resulting in me unclipping from that pedal and pedalling one legged whilst I try to strecth the other one out.

I have looked it up and there is a lot of mention about salt deficiancy, but I think I have a good amount of salt in my food, so not sure that would be the cause. Others mention it's stress related...... well we are all stressed in one way or another, but surely that can't be it.

Does anyone else suffer with this? What do you do/take to releive/stop it? What do you do prior to long rides to try stopping it from happening? What do you do if it happens whilst out on a ride.

Thanks!

Chris

Comments

  • styxd
    styxd Posts: 3,234
    As above, train harder. But also look at bike setup, cleat position, pedalling technique. Your calves really shouldnt be doing much work when cycling.
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    Night cramps might be magnesium deficiency - try a supplement for a few weeks and see if it helps. magnesium (salts) aren't dangerous if you dont exceed the stated dose several times over.
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    Last time I had calf cramp was when I started pulling on the pedals to increase my cadence. The muscle turned into a hard ball and took a lot of painful massage and a week of rest to sort it out. Another frequent time was when I hadn't drank enough during 200k Audax rides. However you may be low on neutriants so look them up.

    http://www.medicinenet.com/muscle_cramps/page2.htm

    I have also tried these and they helped.

    http://crampex.co.uk/faqs.aspx
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • mrwibble
    mrwibble Posts: 980
    I read also somewhere magnesium or lack of and muscle fatigue is the cause of cramps. Keep hydrated, foam rollering and stretching should be good, maybe a sports massage every now and again.

    Twitter: @imassageuk
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,712
    Might be stating the obvious but keep you leg straight and point your toes towards your knees to relieve cramps.
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי

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