BIG Cramp in evening - How do you deal with it?
 

Last night my left quad started to cramp - once at my desk (10 PM), once just after going to bed (12 M).

1. Straighten leg ASAP. Cramps in any of the big muscles of my legs always scares me!
2. I want to stand up and stretch it out, but I have to be careful, because my right quad is feeling twitchy. But I get myself into a standing position with some effort.
3. I bend over (doesn't seem to do much) and eventually I manage to raise the leg high enough to rest my left heel on the cushion of a low chair. Now I can bend a little and it seems to stretch out.

So, apart from the terror that my muscles were about to kill me, everything worked out fine.

But it sure would be nice to find some better solution. Any helpful ideas?

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• FWIW, age (67) might be an issue but I think I remember this happening when I was younger (I used to be a runner). And I spent yesterday roaming a park ("German Car Day"), not cycling (although I walked a LOT more than normal). And only 20 miles the day before. I.e., this probably wasn't caused by cycling. But usually it is.

Take calcium and magnesium and also drink post ride sports drinks like Endurox Rx

Water,hydrate,water,salt bath and foam roller

+1 calcium and magnesium. I used to cramp almost everyday, more water and c +m and it is rare that I cramp now.

also potassium.

eat a banana

The cause of cramping remains mysterious, except that the old explanation of insufficient electrolytes is almost certain to be wrong. Yet the belief that you can take some salt and solve cramping persists. Nope!

Here's a little general info page on cramping: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/legcram...roduction.aspx

A couple things to note: first, there is no mention of salts under treatment or prevention. Because it doesn't work. Second, age is mentioned as a factor, cramping is more common in people over 60. It also mentions exercise, of course.

I would bet that your long walk contributed significantly to your cramp. Strenuous exercise, especially if you are unaccustomed to it, is the strongest associated factor with cramps that I know of. The rest of the time it probably is cycling. The solution is to try and stretch the cramping muscle and generally to get fitter, which helps. Otherwise, the only thing to do is grit it out. The worst a cramp will do is bruise you, generally it's not even that bad. You're not going to be hurt by this.

I yell really loud! Seriously!

Actually I have found that magnesium, calcium, zinc and endurolytes from hammer work best for me. Some people swear by pickle juice but it really does not help me. I had a bit of cramps this last Saturday after a 110 mile ride that finished with temps of 102 degrees. A couple endurolytes helped after the yelling (mentioned previously) and stretching the legs out.

My last real bad bout with cramps started on mile 60 of a 100 miler in December last year. The temps were in the mid 90s (yes in December) so maybe that did not help. I cramped on/off for the last 40 miles. I tried every trick on that ride, pickle juice, endurolytes, hydration, even biting my upper lip. Read that one on the Internet somewhere. The cramps finally went away at mile 98 and I finished with a PR for a 100.

good luck but I don't think there is a magic formula.

While its true the science behind cramping is limited, that does not mean that some folks can't reduce their tendency to cramping with minerals, salt, etc. it's been shown to help me. Also, I bring Tums with me on rides, as they have helped abate cramps that start at about the 4-hour mark for me.

Pickle Juice is an immediate fix for me if I have muscle cramps on a ride. I'm sure not everyone likes the taste.

hobkirk, aren't you getting back into cycling after injury?

The thing is, the quad in the area that cramped plays a fairly significant role in pedalling. And if that muscle hasn't been exercised for a while, to the same level as you did on the ride and walking, it is going to protest.

Take solace in that, I think, this is a passing phase.

Management of rehydration and electrolytes as you ride (and walk) will help, but mainly, getting out there and riding and getting that muscle used to working again is the main thing.

(I get these from time to time coming back to riding after a lay-off, or during very long rides, either touring or doing randonnees. There's nothing like crawling into a tent and have a quad muscle cramp... because as you observe, there is almost no way to overcome it.

I've even had the muscles in both legs fire off at once, and I can tell you, that was absolute agony that left me feeling sick in the stomach.)

The first thing I do when I start to cramp is to drink a lot of water ... at the first little twinges.

I know the jury is out about what causes cramps, but for me, if I am not adequately hydrated, I cramp. Usually it's my feet. And this can be just walking around, nothing to do with cycling. But if I drink a glass of water ... the cramps are gone. :)

Eat more bananas, also low sodium V8 juice, and the naked juice protein smoothie are stuffed with potassium, which, the absence of can cause exactly the sort of cramps you describe.

Two years ago, I lost the larger of the hamstring muscles (bicep femoris) in my right leg to cancer. My legs now cramp really easily from compensating for the loss. On the recommendation of many people here, I have started taking potassium and magnesium supplements. Cramps are now a reminder that I forgot to take them before going to bed. It has worked wonders for me. YMMV.

Potatoes actually have a lot more potassium than bananas. If you're aiming to consume more potassium, bake a potato, with the skin on, and eat it salted, with a bit of cheese. Lots of electrolytes

Do all of that stuff^^

Also, this works for me: I try to relax my body. I focus my mind on the muscle that is cramping, and I try to imagine the muscle slowly relaxing. I repeat "relax relax relax" while breathing deeply (diaphragm breathing) through my nose. The cramp usually starts going away within a few moments.