Author Topic: How do you avoid cramp?  (Read 4285 times)

Offline Fajja

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How do you avoid cramp?
« on: July 16, 2007, 06:08:45 PM »
Hello, When i train hard I sometimes get cramp. but only in my toes/foot. I never get cramp in any other muscles. Does anyone else suffer from this or know how to avoid it?

To avoid cramp, I just keep myself well hydrated and make sure i take some salt with my food from time to time, but not too much  ;) but i still get toe cramp from time to time :(

makes me look silly trying to get out the pool with cramp in one foot  :2funny:
« Last Edit: July 16, 2007, 06:16:58 PM by Fajja »

Offline Brick

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2007, 09:03:29 AM »
You asked if anyone suffers from it. I get a bit of cramp in my calf muscle. I mainly feel "something" in the muscle while pushing off the wall. I'm told that's a rare place to get cramp. I've had twinges in that muscle while swimming in open water (no push offs), but not full blown cramp.

There are lots of pages on the net about cramp while swimming, though I wouldn't know which are the good ones and which aren't.

http://swimming.about.com/cs/cramps/index.htm
http://www.spma.net/cramp.htm
http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/Boys_Own_Book_of_Outdoor_Sports/swimmingc_hj.html (from a boys book published in 1900, but interesting)

Offline Fajja

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2007, 03:43:26 PM »
interesting reading there, i will admit its only when im swimming in a cold pool that i get the cramp in my toes. I think the solution from reading those will be to stretch more, which i need to do anyway! ::)

Offline Brick

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #3 on: July 20, 2007, 12:29:43 AM »
The description of cramp in the "Boys own book of outdoor sports" sounds a bit extreme. I would like to think that if I cramped up in open water that I wouldn't lose my ability to think, and would be able to limp back to shore even if in considerable pain.

Offline Fajja

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #4 on: July 20, 2007, 03:57:14 PM »
I would hope so too. cramping in the open water could be dangerous, best thing to do would be to remain calm until it goes i thin

Offline Captain Pugwash

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2007, 07:11:26 PM »
Quote from: Brick link=topic=3915.msg3954#msg3954 date=118483220 I'm told that's a rare place to get cramp
[/quote
Had an almighty problem with both calfs going at the same time last week.Well warmed up,hydrated,had to pull up into 1st 3 strokes on fly doing 100ims.My calfs seem to be my problem area.Only tother time i get cramp,is when i do backstroke,it always pops up in the instep of my right foot.No probs.with the left.Which is strange due to ligaments in knee & ankle on the left are the ones that are past the used by date.Not nice having cramp.And there seems no one solution to the causes or cures for it. :(
"success consists of going from failure to failure,without loss of of ENTHUSIASM" Winston churchill.

Offline Fajja

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2007, 07:28:38 PM »
it seems that cramp is a mystery to science! I rarely get cramp in my body, only in my feet ( havent had crap since stretching my feet everyday :))
for me breaststroke was the worst! 10 or 15m of that midway through a session would garuntee cramp in my wee toes :D

edit: missed the m in cramp :uglystupid2:
« Last Edit: July 22, 2007, 08:40:47 PM by Fajja »

Offline Captain Pugwash

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2007, 08:36:25 PM »
it seems that crap is a mystery to science! I rarely get cramp in my body, only in my feet ( havent had crap since stretching my feet everyday :))
for me breaststroke was the worst! 10 or 15m of that midway through a session would garuntee cramp in my wee toes :D
Need to stop stretching your feet,could be the cause of you not having a Crap.since you started strecthing ya feet.Constipation eh. ::)
« Last Edit: July 22, 2007, 11:29:52 PM by Captain Pugwash »
"success consists of going from failure to failure,without loss of of ENTHUSIASM" Winston churchill.

Offline Fajja

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #8 on: July 22, 2007, 08:40:09 PM »
haha oopsee :D, thats a bad typo to make :embarassed:

Offline Captain Pugwash

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #9 on: July 22, 2007, 08:49:37 PM »
haha oopsee :D, thats a bad typo to make :embarassed:
Funny tho.Sorry for going off topic.But couldnt resist reply. :angel:
"success consists of going from failure to failure,without loss of of ENTHUSIASM" Winston churchill.

Offline Fajja

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #10 on: July 22, 2007, 08:58:32 PM »
no worries :) thanks for keeping me right  :coolsmiley:

Offline shorty

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #11 on: July 23, 2007, 09:36:27 PM »
if any part of your body goes into cramp stop swimming instantly, if u get it in your thigh bad enough it will snap your femur in 2, and then your fucked, dont try open water swimming in seas, find a lake and practice doing small distances at first, its basically like asking a guy who bench presses 10kg to go against a guy who does 300, major damage and as people have stated it can be very dangerous, also look into learning how to control your body temp, some guy just swam the north pole, he heats his body up by a degree in less than a min and keeps it there

Offline Fajja

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #12 on: July 23, 2007, 09:40:39 PM »
crieky i'm glad i am not prone to getting cramp in my thigh!  :o The guy you mention is Lewis Pugh who swam at the north pole :)

Offline Fajja

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #13 on: August 29, 2008, 05:10:08 PM »
Just a wee update with what i've been trying. I have done a lot more stretching, drinking plenty of water, and a bit extra salt in my porridge in the morning, that seems to do the trick for me  :angel:

Offline Tinuviel

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Re: How do you avoid cramp?
« Reply #14 on: April 22, 2009, 03:29:18 AM »
Anyone ever gets leg cramps during nights when resting? I usually get those when I've done something really exhausting. Those are extremely painful and can last for over a minute! I've found a way to stop the cramp before the most painful part begins. If I activate a certain muscle in a certain way soon enough, the cramp just dies. But sometimes I sleep a little bit too long and can't stop the cramp in time. It's almost impossible to endure the pain without making any noise so my doggie and roommate are always just wonderin' that what the heck I am doing ahaha
Early bird may get the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese!