Tips to Prevent Cramps
Imagine it’s the fourth quarter of a Friday night football game. Your team is down 6 points, and you’re in the next play. You are hoping to tie the game for your team. Adrenaline is at an all-time high, and you are preparing to give everything you've got.
You explode off the line and fall to the ground grabbing your leg. You experience an excruciating pain surge through your calf. You cramped. Could this have been prevented?
“Yes!” says Shammara Al-Darraji, ATC, a Mass General Brigham certified athletic trainer. “I’m sure everyone has experienced a cramp before, but there are ways to help prevent them from happening.”
A cramp is a sudden, painful tightening in a muscle, often seen after prolonged exercise, that limits movement.
Al-Darraji works with athletes at Portsmouth High School through Wentworth-Douglass Hospital. She offers several tips for preventing and treating muscle cramps.
Train appropriately.
The first step is to sufficiently warm up your muscles beforehand. This is important to get your body into its “exercise mode.”
Additionally, try to progress your workout intensity gradually, allowing your body to adjust to the change, avoid muscle cramps, and prevent workout pain.
Acclimate yourself to your environment.
Allowing your body to adjust to changing temperatures is essential to prevent cramping. Acclimating to your environment before heavy exercise allows your metabolism to adapt to its external inputs. For example, warmer temperatures would cause your core body temperature to rise quickly, throwing off your body's metabolic balance. Likewise, planning ahead for winter workouts to exercise safely can help prevent injury.
Drink the right amount of fluids.
Muscle cramping is correlated directly with dehydration due to excessive sweating. When you sweat, your body loses water and essential minerals such as potassium and sodium. Our hydration tips for athletes can help you prevent dehydration. Consider using a replacement beverage that includes sodium.
High-sodium sports drinks are specifically formulated with various salts to help prevent cramping. It is important to note that when high levels of plain water are consumed alone, blood sodium levels can dip too low, and a dangerous situation known as hyponatremia can occur.
This can cause:
How much water should you drink?
Try this formula: Your body weight multiplied by 0.67 equals the number of ounces of water to drink per day. Then, add 12 ounces for every 30 minutes of exercise.
Therefore, a 150-pound athlete who competes for 90 minutes needs 136.5 ounces of water per day.
One fun fact: Pickle juice, which has a high salt content and a sharp taste imparted by the acetic acid content, was reported to be effective in reducing the duration of cramps. Studies have shown that cramp duration was reduced by about 37 percent on average when 1 milliliter of pickle juice was ingested 2 seconds after induction of cramping.
Choose high-potassium and salty foods during and after exercise.
Potassium is a nutrient that helps facilitate muscle contractions. It is a neuromuscular transmitter that provides communication between muscles and nerves. This communication breaks down when potassium levels are low, and muscles can “get stuck” in a contracted position that we feel as spasms or cramps.
Avoid carbohydrate depletion.
Low or exhausted levels of carbohydrates can directly cause muscle cramping. Carbohydrates are the primary fuel used during exercise.
Prevent carbohydrate depletion by consuming carbohydrates before your workout and during exercise if it exceeds 60 minutes.
The energy used for exercise is stored in complex chains of carbohydrates known as glycogen within the muscles and liver. Muscles need this energy to both activate and relax. With low levels of fuel, relaxing is impaired, and cramping occurs.
It is best to stock the body with carbohydrates (particularly for days when multiple games/events occur) at least 3 to 4 hours before competition. Many sports drinks also contain carbohydrates and will help replenish an athlete's stores before, during, and after competitions.
Check out these foods to add carbohydrates to your diet:
- Bread
- Potatoes
- Beans
- Pasta
Taking these steps can help you stay healthy for your workouts.
Learn about Mass General Brigham Sports Medicine services