What is a cramp and how to relieve it?

We have all felt that intense pain in a muscle, like a contraction, which wakes us up in the middle of the night or forces us to stop in the middle of a physical activity... in other words, cramps!

Cramps are a common problem that affects everyone, and are more common in the elderly, pregnant women and athletes. Let's see what the causes are and the appropriate solutions.

In your opinion, what is the difference between a cramp and a muscle soreness?

A cramp is characterized by intense pain in a muscle that appears suddenly. The muscle is then painful, stiff and contracted when palpated and it is difficult to move the affected limb. This corresponds to an involuntary muscle contraction, visible and localized to a muscle. The cramp disappears after a few seconds to a few minutes but a painful and sensitive point can remain for several hours. [ Cramps ]

Cramps most often affect the muscles of the lower limbs: calves , back and front of the thighs , soles of the feet . [ Muscle Cramps ]

They should not be confused with muscle aches, which are also common muscle pains during sports. They occur a few hours or the next day after an unusual effort. The muscles become painful with the slightest movement and sensitive when touched. Muscle aches correspond to small cracks in the muscles after an effort that is too intense or prolonged. [Aches and cramps]

Most often, cramps occur for no apparent reason, particularly at night (nocturnal cramps) and following physical exercise. Certain diseases or medications promote the onset of cramps (such as chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis sessions, hypothyroidism, diabetes).

Night cramps wake you up and force you to stand, walk around and stretch the muscle. Elderly people and pregnant women are prone to this type of cramp.

Exercise-related cramps occur during exercise, when it is prolonged, intense, without preparation, or a few hours after the end of the exercise. [ Cramps ]

How to relieve cramps?

A cramp is painful, but it can be relieved with simple actions.

If you have a cramp:

• Stop the activity that caused the cramp to occur.

• Slowly stretch the muscle and massage: the goal is to activate the antagonist muscle to allow the muscle contraction to relax

  • In case of calf cramp for example: stand up, facing a wall about 50 cm from it and lean forward, leaning on the wall, keeping the sole of your foot on the ground. Hold the posture for 10 seconds, you should feel a slight tension in the calf. Then release.

• Rehydrate yourself

• Stand up to relieve nighttime cramps and stretch the sore muscle

[ Exerciseassociated muscle cramps: Discussion on causes, prevention and treatment ]

 

Tips to prevent cramps

General advice:

• As a preventative measure, drink plenty of water (1.5 L recommended/day) without waiting until you are thirsty. Good hydration before, during and after exercise is essential.

• Always keep a water bottle with you so you have water easily accessible no matter where you are!

• Eat healthily and favor foods rich in magnesium (rice, nuts, almonds, bananas, whole grains, dried vegetables, etc.), especially if you are an athlete.

If you frequently get cramps during exercise:

• Prepare yourself with suitable training

• Remember to warm up your muscles well before exercise: the warm-up must be gradual and adapted

• Make sure to replace water and mineral losses during and after exercise, and use drinks suitable for athletes.

• Do a stretching session for the muscles that worked the most and a relaxation session after the exercise.

[ Muscle Cramps ]

If you are prone to nighttime cramps: stretch the muscles affected by cramps (calves, back of the thighs) before going to bed

If cramps become very frequent and are accompanied by other symptoms (fever, tremors, persistent pain), consider consulting your doctor.

Why do we get cramps?

During muscle contraction, the muscle fibers retract due to an impulse sent by the nerves, which causes the muscle to shrink by 30 to 50%. A cramp occurs when the muscle does not relax and therefore remains contracted.

The muscles most affected are the so-called bi-articular muscles, that is to say, those that cross two joints: these are the muscles of the calves, the back of the thigh and the front of the thigh. These muscles can easily find themselves in a shortened position during our movements, which makes them more prone to cramps. [ Muscle Cramps ]

There are still uncertainties about the mechanism of cramps. However, it is known that they occur following an increase in the excitability of the nerve structures responsible for controlling the muscles, leading to their involuntary and sudden contraction. Some elements cause a disruption of the nerve control on the muscle.

This could be due to water and mineral imbalance in muscle cells, linked to dehydration or intensive physical activity leading to great fatigue.

Dehydration ​ and cramps

Excessive sweating and a lack of minerals (chlorine, magnesium, sodium, potassium and calcium) not compensated by fluid and mineral intake, alters the balance of fluids in the body. This leads to an increase in pressure on the nerve endings and will cause contractions around the nerve, thus changing its excitability and causing the muscle to contract abruptly.

This happens especially with severe dehydration and significant sodium loss.

Muscle fatigue and cramps

If the effort required is too intense and the muscles lack preparation, muscular fatigue will alter the control of the nervous command, induce an abnormal neurological reflex and a tetanic contraction of the muscle.

Various factors could be at the origin of this reaction, in particular the increase in the intensity and duration of the effort, a lack of training, tired and damaged muscles, etc.

[ Exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC): literature review ]

The origin of cramps is therefore complex. Significant dehydration associated with muscle fatigue (due to an absence or poor warm-up, overly intensive training) will therefore significantly increase the risk of cramps. Dehydration can also influence your mental state, reduce your performance and itself be a source of fatigue.

The Hydratis solution allows you to maintain a good level of hydration, especially during sports. Its formulation rich in mineral salts (sodium, potassium, magnesium and chloride) accelerates hydration and will reduce cramps and fatigue. We advise you to put 2 Hydratis tablets in your bottle to be hydrated during exercise and thus avoid injuries. Find the opinions of our customers who talk about Hydratis 😊

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