Originally Posted by
Machka
So ... if cramping is not caused by those things, why then do I get cramps in my feet on days when I'm dehydrated?
I'll have had a busy day at work, and will have forgotten to drink during the day, then I'll do something as strenuous as walking through a grocery store, and my feet will cramp.
Or I'll be out for a casual 1-hour ride and will have forgotten my water bottle at home ... after all, it's only a short ride and not at anything like an intense pace ... and toward the end of the ride, my feet will cramp.
I was getting feet cramps fairly regularly for a while, and then I'd be OK for a few days, and then back to feet cramps, so I analysed my diet ... and consistently ... my feet cramped on days when I was dehydrated, and were OK on days when I drank enough.
There are many unanswered questions. Why is the moon so beautiful? Why do idiopathic cramps respond to different treatments? Why are my wife's leg cramps much better if she sleeps with a bar of soap in the bed? Why does rubbing a cramp with soap make it go away? Why can she lie in bed reading for an hour just fine and then cramp as soon as I come to bed?
I'm sure you are familiar with the literature. Med tent investigations and randomized controlled trials have shown no correlation between cramps and the things I mentioned. My current thinking is that idiopathic lower extremity cramps may have something to do with circulation or spinal positioning. Or maybe your feet sweat more when you are well hydrated and there's a cooling effect with sweaty feet. I doubt that a one hour ride is long enough to cause clinically noticeable dehydration. Who knows?