Relieving muscle cramps

Training-associated muscle cramps are very common, although no one knows for certain why they occur.

Despite this, there are several theories about possible triggers that can help you win the battle against those painful events called muscle cramps.

The theories are summarized as follows:

• The dehydration/electrolyte theory.
• The neuromuscular theory.

Based on specific knowledge of these two scenarios, you could analyze how to prevent muscle cramps.

The dehydration/electrolyte theory

This theory speculates that a significant disturbance in fluid or electrolyte balance, generally due to a reduction in the body's exchangeable sodium stores, causes contraction of the interstitial fluid compartment around the muscles and a failure of nerve impulses, resulting in muscle cramps.

This means that if you lose a large amount of sodium and do not replace it, which is common when you sweat heavily, imbalances occur in the body's fluids that trigger them.

In a classic study on salt depletion conducted by a pioneering physician in the 1930s, subjects were placed on a very low-salt diet, while also drinking plenty of water and taking hot baths to increase sweat production and accelerate salt loss.

• The findings showed that when salt depletion began to become noticeable, it quickly led to taste abnormalities, cramps, weakness, fatigue, and severe cardiorespiratory difficulty during exertion.
• As soon as the test subjects reintroduced salt into their systems, recovery from these symptoms, including the absence of further cramps, was remarkable.
• Those effects were also felt within 15 minutes after consuming salty food.

In 1996, a study published in the journal International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism documented the case of a tennis player who often suffered from cramps during tournaments.

Having determined that the player had a high sweat rate and was unlikely to be able to replace his sodium losses through his normal diet, he was prescribed a higher salt intake, which enabled him to eliminate heat cramps during competition and training.

The neuromuscular theory

This theory is more recent. It proposes that muscle overload and neuromuscular fatigue are the fundamental causes of training-induced muscle cramps.

The hypothesis is that fatigue contributes to an imbalance between the excitatory impulses from the muscle spindles and the inhibitory impulses from the Golgi tendon organs, resulting in a localized muscle cramp.

In other words, your muscles tend to experience them specifically when they are overworked and fatigued due to electrical failures.

• An important factor that appears to support the neuromuscular theory is that stopping and stretching the affected muscles is a universally effective method for relieving a cramp while it is happening.
• Stretching puts the muscle under tension, triggering the relative activity of the Golgi tendon organs (part of the muscle responsible for telling it to relax) and causing the episode to dissipate.

How can you prevent muscle cramps?

It is likely that muscle cramps have multiple causes, including electrolyte imbalances and neuromuscular fatigue; therefore, multiple interventions are needed to try to eliminate them—in other words, try more than one method to relieve the problem.

At the moment, there is no magic remedy available to get rid of them, and one does not appear likely to emerge in the short term.

However, if you are unwilling to sit around waiting for science to deliberate, there are some simple things you can try to relieve muscle cramps when you train.

• Eating foods that stimulate “transient receptor potential channels” (TRP) may affect muscle cramps.
• Reduce fatigue.
• Consume additional sodium.
• Use several strategies.

Foods vs. cramps

TRP channels connect the mouth to the central nervous system. The hypothesis is that stimulating them causes a “jolt” reaction in the nerves, interrupting the signals that cause the cramp.

• Substances that stimulate TRP channels include foods such as wasabi, mustard oil, and spicy spices.
• This is thought to be where the idea of using pickle juice to cure muscle cramps comes from, especially because of its high sodium levels.
• Other nutritional solutions, such as foods like bananas, are based on the body's balance, which also requires potassium, carbohydrates, and B vitamins, among other micronutrients.

For example, when drinking pickle juice, nerve stimulation occurs almost immediately, while the sodium it contains takes several minutes to reach the intestines and be absorbed into the bloodstream.

This solution is consistent with the general idea that the main cause of cramps lies in the nervous system and not solely in an electrolyte imbalance. 

Try to reduce fatigue

Fatigue is probably also involved in muscle cramps during training.

From this perspective, you can minimize the risk by following these tips to ensure that you are not excessively overloading your body:

• Train specifically for events that tend to cause cramps, using the right combination of volume and intensity to prepare your muscles.
• Pace yourself appropriately based on your fitness level and environmental conditions to avoid overloading your muscles prematurely.
• Reduce your events so that you are fresh and well rested when you begin.
• Eat properly, with plenty of carbohydrates before events begin and during activity, to prevent glycogen depletion and premature fatigue.

Consume additional sodium

This is a good idea if muscle cramps tend to occur during or after periods of heavy sweating, in hot weather, during longer activities, or if you generally follow a diet low in sodium and carbohydrates.

• Human sweat contains, on average, more than 900 mg of sodium per liter, while athletes lose more than 1,500 mg per liter.
• In this scenario, it is a good idea to have more than 1,000 mg of sodium per liter in a drink.

Most sports drinks are extremely low in electrolytes, containing only around 300 to 500 mg of sodium per liter. In this case, make sure to choose ones that are strong enough to make a real difference.

If you consume salt or sodium separately from your fluids, in the form of food or capsules, aim for a similar ratio—that is, 1,000–1,500 mg of sodium for every liter of water you drink.

Remember that table salt (NaCl) is only 39% sodium (the other 61% is chloride), so you need approximately 3 g to obtain about 1,170 mg of sodium.

Finally, consume extra sodium in the hours immediately before and during activities that normally cause cramps. Then observe how it affects you, as you will quickly know whether it is effective, allowing you to adjust your dosage.

Other strategies

These strategies are far from proven, but they are based on experience, as they have been used for a long time in the fight against muscle cramps:

• Sports massages and stretching of the affected muscles.
• Thorough warm-ups before activities that cause cramps.
• Mental relaxation techniques.
• Acupuncture.

Although it is likely that none of these will offer a complete solution, they are generally accessible, affordable, and may even benefit your performance in other ways.

Regarding sodium, do you know its benefits for training? Watch the video prepared by MASmusculo and share your experiences.