Originally Posted by
livedarklions
People can't even agree on lack of which electrolyte is supposed to be the cause (magnesium was a popular candidate on BF for a while), but the whole electrolyte thing doesn't make any sense. A cramp is usually a very localized phenomenon, generally only happening to only one muscle at a time, and for a very limited duration. Electrolyte deficiency is a very serious system-wide health issue--if it were causing cramps, why would it be one muscle at a time, and for such a limited duration?
The reason there's so many "remedies" is very simple. Generally, no matter what you do, the cramp is going to go away in a matter of seconds or minutes, so it's ripe territory for the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy.
I'm with you, I generally only get cramps when I'm ramping up my activity level.
As pointed out above, it’s not electrolytes, nor is it water. The leading theory is overactivity of the 1a afferent system, which mediates the muscle stretch reflex, and concomitant down-regulation of the 1b, tendon organ, system, which opposes it, leading to unopposed reflex activity in response to activation of the stretch receptors. The origin of the problem is probably in the spinal cord and the only consistently identified associated conditions are fatigue and relative lack of conditioning. The reason passive stretching relieves cramps is that it stimulates the tendon organs.
Pickle juice-mustard thing may indeed be real and mediated by activation of a brain stem reflex, which momentarily inhibits spinal motor output.
We now resume the steady stream of wrong info.