That's the gospel I preach also. Everyone wants a chemical fix. No. The fix involves a lot of hard consistent work.

People do run into problems when they try a new movement and have some pain after. It can be hard for a newbie to separate good pain from bad pain. That takes experience or a good adviser.

In my case, it's more consistence than hard work for mobility and general fitness: I'm talking about a total of one minute of calf raises, body-weight only, 2-3 times a week...maybe 1-2 minutes of bodyweight squats, pistol squats, and lunges, 2 sets of 10 pushups done slowly, 1 minute of slow arm circles, 1 minute of single-leg deadlifts, and maybe a couple other movements.

Were taking 10 minutes in the morning and done...

1) Have you been to see the Dr yet? Have you had the ultrasound yet?

2) Is the leg a little bit swollen? Hot?

I'm currently listening to this. I think it would be useful to point out that at least so far where I've listened to he's talking about cramping during exercise. I've experienced some of that, like probably most people. The cramps I'm really talking about, though, are the ones that wake me up in agony in the middle of the night hours later. It's not clear to me that what the sports physiologist guy is talking about is the same thing.

For quick, almost instant relief from leg cramps, swallow a large spoonful of mustard. Or eat a pickle. Vinegar is the magic, common element between the two. Whenever I get leg cramps the afore mentioned remedies always work. Anything with vinegar in it should work. The stronger the dose, the better. A banana or two a day will help as well. They replace lost potassium.
Jon

Physically, there's some inflammation which is sensitive to pressure. No unusual colors and is not hot. Ironically, it feels worst when I'm doing nothing or doing really easy stuff like walking on level floor across the room. Moderate exercise makes it feel better temporarily.

Haven't gone in yet, but your earlier post got me thinking. I've been stretching, going more heavily with the fluids. I have to go out of town the day after tomorrow and have decided I'll get it checked out if I see no signs of improvement in the next few days.

You are quite correct. The idiopathic cramps don't easily yield to analysis. And thus what you've eaten and drunk and whatever supplements you use have nothing to do with it. If it were only so simple! Believe it or not, a smallish piece of soap (Ivory works) between the sheets at night helps. I'm not kidding. Doesn't prevent, but helps. Otherwise, keep a bottle or small purse of Tums, brand name only, regular strength only, near at hand. That stops them fairly quickly without the bother of vinegar substances. My wife has been around the block with this, and yes, she's had the ultrasound as well as anything else a good doctor can think of.

But the thing that works the best is being in top physical condition in every respect. My hunch is that it does have something to do with circulation and that being really fit helps circulation. With my wife, it's not only extremities, also abs and chest, though it is mostly in the lower extremities, calves, adductors, toes, forefoot, arches, etc. When she's working out 8 or so hours a week, she has no during-exercise cramps and many fewer night cramps. This week, we'll have exercised pretty hard almost every day, for ~12 total hours. No cramps!

Did you recently change how much you ride?

No -- I'm very consistent. No health or lifestyle changes that I'm aware of.

Once when I rode a lot less I got cramps until I made pedaling motions with the cramped leg. Maybe that will help.

Yes, do get it checked.

My leg looked normal (with maybe a bit of inflammation, sensitive to pressure) for the first 3 or 4 weeks of the DVT, and yes, it did seem to feel worse when I wasn't doing much. Once I got going, it seemed to be a bit better. And I just kept telling myself I needed to drink more, or needed more electrolytes, or needed to stretch it more or walk it off.

Until about the 4th week.

Then the cramp-like pain morphed into a deep ache from my hip all the way down. The leg just didn't feel right at all, and I started to find any activity more difficult than it should be ... I was huffing and puffing on walks.

As I neared the 6th week, I took a bath and had my feet propped up on one end of the tub. And that's when I noticed that my left leg was about twice the size of the right. The next day I went out on my usual walk, and couldn't make it ... I just couldn't breathe enough to manage the walk.

Into the Dr ... into the Ultrasound ... and the Ultrasound Tech wouldn't let me leave the hospital ... and in hospital for the next 2 weeks while they worked to get rid of the clots which had blocked up most of my left leg. I was told I was in imminent of developing PE or worse.

But fortunately it was resolved and only minor side effects left.

That's what I've found. I'm not even sure all of my cramps have the same cause. Since I started getting them about 5 years ago, I've been quite methodical in keeping notes on what works & what doesn't.

Hasn't worked for me:
- mustard
- pickle juice

Works for a short period (10-20 min):
- Hotshot (commercial concoction guaranteed to make a difference)

Has made a difference:
- magnesium supplementation
- electrolyte supplementation ('Electrolyte Stamina' tabs on Amazon)
- Pedialyte electrolyte powder
- hydration (this has been critical for me & probably deserves it's own section)
- keeping ahead of both hydration & electrolyte deficiencies (using more than I think I need & before I actually need it). Trying to recover after going in a hole is rough & sometimes impossible
- conditioning/training
- hot shower with freezing cold water finish (freezing water on cramp-prone muscles)
- alcohol reduction/elimination after intense workouts

Yup - these are horrible. I actually got to where I was scared to go to sleep. I found that by hydrating** after a ride, I've been able to halt 98% of these episodes.

** by 'hydrating', I mentally think of over-hydrating. After long, intense rides, I've got to make myself keep pounding fluids - much more than my rational mind thinks I need. I also must allow time for my body to absorb these fluids. If I exercise too late & go to bed without several hours of absorption time, I'm toast. The freezing shower water finish has also appeared to help.

I'd really like to reinforce what Machka has been saying. Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT) is pretty common in cyclists. We drive for hours to our cycling event, then ride our bike for hours, then get back in the car and drive back home (sitting still) for hours. It's the perfect scenario for a DVT. Now there are new medications that may prevent initial hospitalization (also depending on how severe it is). A DVT can be fatal if a piece becomes a pulmonary embolism (PE). A venous Doppler of the legs is a simple test that will rule this out.


I'm not saying that it is a DVT, but it should be ruled out.

It seems to be relatively common in athletes in general. And that was one of the reasons I left mine so long. Before the flight that started mine, I had done a 1000 km month, and had spent the rest of the month on my feet packing all my worldly goods into boxes. Got to the airport, and I'm the one hiking up and down and up and down the airport instead of just sitting and waiting for my plane. I put in several km at each airport along the way. I was a normal weight, healthy and strong.

So I figured I'd be one of the least likely candidates for DVT.

But apparently I have a genetic predisposition to develop clots (they found that during my 2 weeks in hospital), and in doing a little bit of research, for some reason when the more active types come to a halt for a long drive, or sitting for a long time at work, or worse, a long flight, they may be more at risk than the couch potatoes.

Nevertheless, it is amazing to me that I was able to do as many flights as I had done without incident ... although that said, I do know I struggled with breathing when I arrived in Australia the first time, and again when I arrived back in Canada that time. I chalked it up to allergies. But who knows, maybe I did develop a small clot that managed to resolve itself.

Now that I have this DVT stuff on the brain, quick question -- is it still worth getting checked out even if things improve (I'm on the road and don't return until next Mon)?

Yesterday afternoon, about 50% of the pain suddenly disappeared while I was sitting at a meeting -- it was very obvious. This morning, it's even better -- whatever is going on seems to be working itself out. While the pain isn't totally gone, I can most stuff I'd normally do and am in a place that I feel like I can plan to do real activities the weekend after this coming one.

For me, an easy recovery ride was the only thing that helped.

I would ... that's a long time for a just a cramp. Of course, it could be something else, like you pulled or strained something ... but just to be on the safe side, I'd probably still run it past a Dr.


And keep monitoring the pain ... and also your breathing and fatigue level. If you find yourself huffing and puffing doing things you used did quite easily a couple weeks ago, seek medical attention. Or if you feel like you're going through a mild asthma attack and your inhaler just isn't doing the trick. Or if your leg starts to feel warm, or swells, or looks like there's a slight rash.

My actual cramp-like pain in my calf eased up at about the 4-week point, and I thought "Ah good!" and then a day or so later the whole leg started aching from the hip down. And that's also when I started experiencing breathing difficulties.

My wife was getting cramps in her calf and top of the foot after she rode and after she did crafting. She likes to stand while she make greeting homemade greeting cards. Since she started drinking these thing before riding or starting the card making, she has not had an issue with cramps since. I know several people that swear by the pickle pops. Me, I can't stomach dill pickles, so .....but she swears by them.

https://www.amazon.com/Bobs-Pickle-S.../dp/B001WAVUC4

An interesting "maybe it's a thing" thing is happening here. As I've written, my wife has been a night and after-ride cramps sufferer. And as I've written, her cramps went way down when she upped her weekly exercise time and especially her intensity. The past few days, though for another reason, I've talked her into doing my morning stretches with me. Turns out she's much less flexible than am I and than is desirable in the areas where she's been cramping. Hasn't had a cramp since she's been doing these stretches:
IT Band pain (during ride)

Well, I gotta thank you guys for hassling me about the DVT angle. I felt stupid scheduling the exam because it feels better every day. Anyhoo, just had the scan about a half hour ago.

They saw quite a bit of blockage, set me up for a followup appt tomorrow, and said they're putting me on blood thinners.

My brother dropped dead right in front of me at age 32 from a DVT. I hope you don’t have any complications. I am surprised they didn’t keep you in the hospital overnight; Have a speedy recovery.

Machka nailed it. You want to see doc and get an ultrasound to rule out phlebitis/blood clots since that is potentially fatal.

I all of a sudden started having cramps a couple months ago on bike and off/ I did some reading and stopped taking calcium supps and started taking on lots more magnesium. I have been cramp free for the last couple of months.

I am VERY glad you had it checked and caught it.

Now blood thinners can come with their own challenges, and if you want to talk to someone who has been through it ... I'm here.

Thanks -- the process has been weird. Here is basically how my last two days have gone:
The stuff they gave me (rivaroxaban) should not reduce aerobic capacity, is not sensitive to diet, and does not require monitoring. But it is stupid expensive.

I normally play rough so they've expressed concerns I could trigger internal bleeding in my head or somewhere else if I take a hard blow, so I've been asked to dial things back while the clots dissolve.