Most of us have experienced the complete agony of a muscle cramp before and understand how it can bring you to a complete halt until you address the problem. Though cramps are usually harmless and disappear on their own after a few days, they can greatly impact daily activities and movements. Ongoing cramps are a warning of a more serious problem that needs to be addressed and knowing what to look for is very important. There is a lot of confusing information about why cramps happen and I see so many people waste their efforts, money and time on searching for relief from this condition but not addressing the underlying cause of the problem. This article I hope to give you some clues and ideas as to what these causes are and several ways to treat and manage them to get rid of your cramp for good.
What Is A Muscle Cramp?
Cramping is simply defined as
"An involuntarily and forcibly contracted muscle that does not relax."
A muscle (or even a few fibers of a muscle) that involuntarily (without a signal from the brain) contracts is called a "spasm." If the spasm is forceful and sustained, it becomes a cramp and this can last anywhere from a few seconds to a quarter of an hour, and sometimes longer. It is not uncommon for a cramp to happen several times until it finally subsides. The cramp may involve a part of a muscle, the entire muscle, or several muscles that usually act together. Some cramps involve the simultaneous contraction of muscles that ordinarily move body parts in opposite directions. Muscle cramps are very common and become increasingly frequent with age. BUT.....
Don't assume it is because of old age that this happens! This is not true for older adults who look after their body with exercise. More on this later.
The legs and feet, and particularly the calf, are especially subject to cramps, but any muscle in the body can suffer from this if subjected to excessive tension for long periods.
What Causes A Cramp?
There are several factors you may need to consider.
Firstly some people develop muscle cramps resulting from side effects of medication needed for a health problem, such as diabetes, liver or thyroid diseases.
Other times it can be due to mineral depletion from exercising in extreme heat, competing in endurance sports like Triathlon and Marathon where excessive sweating can bring on heat cramps. The mistake many people make is thinking that cramps are mainly due to a lack of salt or magnesium. And while these minerals may play a part in the process, often the cause is not that simple. This theory may lead to the sufferer taking all types of supplements while remaining ignorant to the real cause of the cramps.
For most people muscle cramps are often caused by 4 things.
- Nerve entrapment
- Lack of stretching or incorrect stretching
- Weak muscles and muscle imbalance
- Excessive training without gradual progression
Let's take a look at each of these causes and give you suggestions on what you need to do to ensure you can prevent this problem.
1: Nerve Entrapment
Nerve entrapment or impingement is a serious problem that can lead to very painful injuries. Symptoms like pins and needles, along with cramping of areas within the body signals that you need to address the area being compressed. We see this a lot with the sciatic nerve from either bulging disc or from piriformis syndrome. Stretching the muscle cramping is the worst thing you can do as you are really stretching the sciatic nerve which will only irritate the problem and make your problem much worse. The nerve is already being overstretched, it does not need more, what it needs is to be relieved of the compression.
Sciatica refers to pain, tingling, and/or numbness felt along your sciatic nerve. The sciatic nerve runs down the back of the thigh, down the shin to the toes, and can be traced back to the nerve roots that exit the spine at L4/5 and L5/S1. The pain felt in your butt and legs is when the sciatic nerve is being pinched.
Nerve flossing can be very useful in managing the cramp pain. (see video below)
But really this is just a band-aid approach and a comprehensive diagnosis and treatment plan is required in order to correct this problem. If you have sciatica you will need a back pain rehabilitation program.
Good articles to read about this are below
If you have Piriformis syndrome your answer really lies in strengthening the glutes to stop the piriformis muscle from overworking and trapping the sciatic nerve.
For both Back Pain or Piriformis Syndrome, you will find our step by step programs below cover all of the necessary treatment plans for getting rid of this for good. Click the image of the program you require below to find out more.
But it is not just the sciatic nerve that can be trapped this can also happen other areas like the feet, toes, the arm and commonly in the elbow area. Again you must seek a correct diagnosis from a doctor before implementing any treatment strategy. In all of these cases learning how to move correctly and adjust postural dysfunctions within the body that are causing the nerve to be trapped is the only way to get rid of the cramping. This IS NOT something resolved with supplements.
Now nerve entrapment does not apply to the majority of the cases so we will now look at what causes the cramp for most of us starting with the most common reason.
2: Lack Of Stretching Or Incorrect Stretching
What is the first thing you instinctively do when you get a cramp?
You stretch the cramping muscle right. And within a few seconds, it instantly starts to go away. Often this is a signal of what you should have been doing in the first place, and what you need to do ongoing to rid yourself of the cramps. (But not always, more on that later).
Most people rarely stretch, and when they do, they often stretch what feels good, instead of what needs to be stretched. The gym junkie can find hours and hours to train but barely can fit in 2 minutes in a week to do some stretches. When muscles are being constantly subjected to contracting for long periods of time from training but no time is devoted to restoring their muscle length, certain muscles become short and tight. It is even worse for the endurance athlete who never stretches.
Research has found that during prolonged exercise the inverse stretch reflex, the one that inhibits excessive muscle contraction becomes inactive due to reduced sensory input coming from the Golgi Tendon whereas stimulation of the alpha motor neurons in the spinal cord is enhanced increasing the chance of you getting a spasm or cramp. The message more or less comes from the spinal cord and not the brain to move a muscle. The only way to prevent this is to administer a regular stretching program to these constantly shortened muscles. This reactivates the dormant stretch reflex and allows the golgi tendon to do it's work again. If left unattended the muscle develops trigger points or goes into spasm. It is then you are given the ultimate message to start stretching with a painful cramp!
However, you don't have to be a gym junkie or marathon runner to subject your body to constant muscle shortening.
For example, if you have a job that requires you to sit for long periods of time, the hip flexor muscles, the quadriceps, the calves and the muscles around the neck and shoulders will also become short and tight, for they are being held in shortened positions for long periods without ever being lengthened. Your chances of developing trigger points and getting cramps are high if you never spend time stretching.
Another example is with high heeled shoes that cramp the toes ruining foot stability and function. Over time this can develop cramps in the feet and the calves as these muscles are left in shortened positions for excessive length of time.
Common muscles to stretch are known as Tonic muscles and these include: Upper traps, Levator Scap, Pecs, Hamstrings, Hips & Quads and Calf Muscles.
I suggest watching the You Tube video below to learn more about what to stretch, when to stretch, how to stretch or you can read the articles below.
Mobility & Flexibility Which Comes First & Why?
Stretching How To Achieve Great Flexibility In Minimal Time
Now I mentioned it is not always a good idea to stretch the cramping muscle for the reason that it is not being contracted but instead overly stretched! The real problem here is not the lack of stretching but the lack of stability and strength otherwise known as muscle imbalance.
3: Muscle Weakness & Muscle Imbalance
With every short and tight muscle, there is an opposing muscle that is long and weak. This is one area ignored by some, in particular with older adults. It is not the fact that aging creates cramping but the fact the muscles have become so weak they easily overload and all types of muscle imbalance are rampant through the body. It will only take simple daily activities to make a person cramp.
The best way to describe this is by using the analogy of a bicycle wheel to explain muscle imbalance.
The rim of the wheel is the skeletal system or your bones, the spokes are the muscles. The spokes must be perfectly tuned to ensure the integrity of the rim. If they are too loose the wheel becomes wobbly and easily loses control. If they are too tight the spokes can break, also causing the bike to crash. The wheel needs a strategy to ensure the optimal balance of the wheel, just like the skeletal system with its muscles. Stretching corrects the tight spokes (muscles) but what do you do for loose spokes (muscles)?
You must tighten them using strength exercises! It is a paradox for you need to tighten up to loosen up!
In some cases muscle will go into cramp, not from being constantly shortened but because they are being constantly overstretched. With all tight muscles being constantly shortened there is an opposing muscle being constantly lengthened. When it is being constantly stretched like this it becomes very weak, and this weakness begins to fire signals to contract it back to its normal shape for it feels like it will very soon suffer damage and be torn! Not to mention the joint that the muscles are meant to be supporting, being in danger of damage. This is where permanent stiffness begins to take place. As the joint senses it cannot stabilize itself due to the supporting muscles becoming too weak, it now devises a new way to create stability, and stiffens the entire joint.
This is exactly what we see with elderly people who have lost too much muscle. It is not ageing to blame, but lack of exercise and more specifically resistance training. How do I know this? For I witness this everyday working with clients in their 70's and 80's and see a huge contrast in how people of the same age move. Watch the videos below of an 80-year-old client of ours to see what I mean. This is not luck that he does not cramp, or does not struggle to do simple tasks. He works hard to maintain how he moves and limit muscle loss.
Stretching tight muscles or massage is a waste of time while the body is so weak and unstable. The body will never loosen these muscles up, for if it does there is a good chance of dislocation of joints which could be a life-threatening problem. Stiffness although limiting movement, possibly causing cramps and discomfort is still a better option than a dislocation. The answer for this person is to start using stability drills, and even more importantly start strength training immediately, focusing on the areas of weakness.
For more information about strength training for older adults read Why Strength Training For Older Adults Is So Important.
Now this problem is not limited to old people. With almost every injury we see muscle imbalance is a massive factor. Common muscles of weakness are known as phasic muscles and they include:
- Glutes,
- Serratus Anterior
- Lower Trapezius
- Lower abdominals
- VMO
There are many things you need to do here and for the sake of this article not being too long I will not go into too much detail here. You can download our Free Report below on Injury Prevention by clicking here that explains how to do this in great detail.
4: Excessive Training Without Gradual Progression
This last one is where many unconditioned people experience cramping, or people who compete in an endurance type event or simply just overdo exercise without understanding the rules of gradual progression. I used to see this all the time with inexperienced exercisers trying to do way too much before their body was ready. The stupidity of "No Pain equals No Gain" is often in this person's mind. Quality of movement is not a priority here, as the belief of more is better is used much to the detriment of the health of joints and the body.
For example they would try to do some massive workout lasting 2 hours when previously they had not exercises at all for 6 months. The muscles are not even close to ready for this type of exertion, and going from nothing to way too much instantly brought on cramps. This is often when I hear the comment, "I just need more magnesium". No, you just bit off more than you could chew, and your body is going to shut you down for pushing yourself too soon.
Endurance training is very over-rated and I see this so many times ruin a person's health. Always remember health comes before fitness, not the other way around. And endurance training is not about health.
You can read more about this here - The Truth About Endurance Training & How It Can Ruin Your Health
Even experienced fitness enthusiasts can make this mistake.
I would often coach people for half marathon or marathon and constantly have to stop people trying to increase their distance too quickly. They would go from running 5km to next week trying to do 10km in the belief that more is better. All this would ultimately lead to is cramping at first followed by injury later. People who cramp playing sports such as football, basketball, cricket, soccer etc you can put it down to any of these last 3 factors. If they are are a person who misses many training sessions, or does not put in the work to last the 2-3 hours of the game then their lack of endurance in the working muscles will always expose them to cramping towards the end of the game.
This person needs to understand the principles of Progressive Overload
If however you are someone that does train hard and long, puts in the work, then you can look more at lack of stretching, incorrect stretching and muscle imbalance needing a well-designed strength program. If there is a strategy in place for these things, then you might look at the diet and suspect lack of water, magnesium, salt, and malnutrition to be the factor. I would always work in this order of finding out the reason behind the cramps. In most cases you will find this is all you needed to do.
Conclusion
I hope this article has shed some light on what cramping really is and how you can avoid it if you don't have it, and also how you can get rid of it if you do. Remember most people you can put it down to no stretching at all, or using a very poor method with no specific design or consistent routine. If you have an injury suspect muscle imbalance and it would be wise to get an assessment from a qualified therapist to rule out any potential nerve entrapment. And if you are playing sports make sure you address any muscle imbalance and ensure you have an adequate conditioning base before you play. Otherwise, you risk cramping during the game and compromising performance.
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