Common Causes of Cramp
Whether being woken in the night or being forced to pull up during a race, cramp is hugely debilitating and can rarely be pinpointed to a single cause. In this blog, I aim to highlight the common causes of cramp and actions you can take to prevent it.
There has been a long-held belief that hydration and electrolyte depletion are causes of cramp. But recent research challenges this viewpoint. If you suffer from recurrent muscle cramping or find cramp impacts your performance, let’s explore this idea and other possible causes.
Hydration for cramp
Dehydration is often associated with cramping and while this isn’t wrong it is only part of the picture. Over-hydrating is common in race environments. A worry about becoming dehydrated can make you take on more fluid than you would normally thus diluting electrolytes in your system, which are important for muscle innervation.
Solve it:
Ensure you start your race well-hydrated and have taken on some electrolytes – I discuss this next. Then drink to thirst. Having a plan to consume a certain amount of fluid can be detrimental if race day is suddenly far hotter than you expected or vice versa.
Electrolytes for cramp
Electrolytes are a balance of sodium & potassium and their role is to enable the transmission of nerve signals that initiate muscle action. Without the correct balance of these minerals, the transmission is less efficient and may contribute to muscle cramping.
Solve it:
Ingesting a good quality electrolyte drink before & during a training session can be a great starting point as it’s relatively inexpensive and easy to implement. A great quality electrolyte that I love is Precision Fuel & Hydration dissolvable tablets with varying strengths.
However, a recent study has shown that hydration and blood electrolyte levels did not significantly vary between marathon finishers who experienced cramp and those who did not. Perhaps contradicting the historical beliefs about the impact of hydration, electrolytes, and their association with cramp.
So, what other causes are there?
Muscle Weakness and cramp
An early warning sign of a muscle becoming overloaded can be cramp and the study mentioned above found greater muscle damage biomarkers in the group of marathon runners who suffered cramp during or immediately after their race.
Muscle tearing occurs when we place more demand upon it than it can endure. Small micro-tearing is a normal part of training that, if given the opportunity to repair and recover before the next training session, will regenerate stronger. So, the question is were these runners underprepared for the demands (muscle weakness) or under-recovered?
Solve it:
There are some accurate tests and benchmarks for muscular strength of the key muscle groups that often develop cramp, like the calf and hamstring. Testing these muscles can help to differentiate muscle weakness from other causes of cramp. A thorough assessment can also determine if your cramping muscle is compensating for a weakness elsewhere.
If you suffer from calf cramp try this test: How many single-leg calf raises can you do off the edge of a step to a beat of 60bpm? If less than 21, then a strength training program might be a good place to start.
Muscle Fatigue / Overuse
This is similar to muscle weakness with demand outweighing the capability of a muscle. While this could be muscular weakness, it could be that you aren’t allowing the muscle sufficient recovery time.
Solve it:
Analyse your training plan and ask yourself the following questions:
- How many complete rest days do I have?
- Do I have rest days after fast or long runs?
- Are my easy runs truly easy?
- Is my weekly distance increasing progressively?
- Do I have cutback or deload weeks?
- How effective is my tapering (particularly relevant if you cramp in races rather than training)
I frequently bang the drum for effective, uncomplicated recovery. Learn more about maximising your recovery and not falling for all the noise online, here!
Ways you can prevent cramp
Let’s summarise some of the actions you can take to prevent cramp
- Drink an electrolyte drink before and during activity
- Drink to thirst
- Ensure adequate recovery during training
- Taper effectively
- Strength train
I would love to hear from you if you found this useful. If you need further help to assess why you might be suffering with cramp drop me a message.
Reference
Martínez-Navarro I, Montoya-Vieco A, Collado E, Hernando B, Panizo N, Hernando C. Muscle Cramping in the Marathon: Dehydration and Electrolyte Depletion vs. Muscle Damage. J Strength Cond Res. 2022 Jun 1;36(6):1629-1635. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003713. Epub 2020 Aug 12. PMID: 32796418.
