Cramps are the most common phenomenon among sports injuries. The record of more than 1,000 people suffering from cramps during marathons at all levels of the Athletic Support Association shows how common cramps are in the sports world.
What exactly is cramp? Cramp is actually a muscle spasm, a phenomenon in which the muscles in a part of the body involuntarily contract strongly and cannot relax quickly. Cramps most often occur in the back of the calf, the back of the thigh and the front of the thigh. In addition, cramps can occur in the feet, fingers, arms, abdomen, and even in the small muscles between the ribs.
During a cramp, the entire muscle becomes hard and sometimes you can even see the muscle twitching under the skin. The muscle cramp may last for a few seconds and then disappear, or it may last for more than 15 minutes. If not treated promptly or if the original exercise is interrupted, it may recur again and again in a short period of time.
The real cause of cramps during exercise is not conclusive, but it is generally believed to be caused by the interaction of many factors.
The phenomenon of cramps and its causes:
- Lack of sufficient stretching exercises before exercise.
- Fatigue of muscles due to overuse.
- Exercise in too hot a climate.
- Sudden change in ambient temperature.
- Too much water loss.
- Electrolyte imbalance.
- Incorrect exercise posture.
- Too much emotional tension.
- Unbalanced diet, side effects of drugs, etc.
Treatment of cramps:
- Immediately interrupt the ongoing exercise.
- Go to a cool and ventilated place and hydrate, especially with sports drinks.
- Slowly stretch the muscle that is spasming, you can also make a moderate massage in the cramped area.
- The treatment process can be supplemented with heat or cold therapy. Whether it is sports sprays or hot and cold packs have a good effect.
Cramp prevention
Warm-up exercises before and after exercise to strengthen the stretching action.
During exercise, it is important to replenish water, sodium (salt) and electrolytic water to balance potassium and sodium in the body. Drinking sports drinks can replenish sodium and electrolytic water at the same time, but also allow the stomach and intestines to quickly absorb water, reducing the weight burden of the stomach and intestines. (Eating fruit with salt not only tastes better, but also has the effect of balancing potassium.)
Proper and gradual exercise. Cramps are the body's way of warning us that the amount of exercise is more than we can handle. In other words, we usually do not have enough exercise and need more practice. In addition to the emergency treatment mentioned above, if you have cramps during cycling, you should have at least a few days of hot compresses and massage after you go home to dilute the Esiaciclovir, otherwise the cramps will come back easily.
Special causes of cramps in cycling
Gear ratio: Gear specific gravity is also one of the causes of cramps, you can try to pedal a lighter gear ratio (UCI regulations for youth gear ratio, lighter than adults, is to protect the development of minors.) Therefore, it is definitely a good idea to try a lighter gear ratio and practice the number of revolutions. When climbing steep hills or bumpy terrain, a lighter gear ratio can be an unexpected advantage.
