Muscle Cramps in Calves

Muscle cramps in calves are nothing new to anyone who has ever worked out. A good hard training session can leave us with aches and pains all over our bodies, and the calves, as a large muscle mass, are especially prone to cramping.

But knowing that it will happen doesn't stop the pain, or depending on how severe even the agony, that accompany muscle cramps. At the very least we can make idiots of ourselves hopping about trying to stretch the cramp out... which has happened to me more times than I care to admit (especially as a personal trainer I should have known better)!

However we don't need to put up with muscle cramping as a simple fact of gym attendance, or running, swimming etc. By taking the right precautions and understanding what causes cramping we are able to move past the agony and limit, if not completely eliminate the odds of our calves (or any other body part for that matter) cramping.

Before we look at 'curing' the muscle cramps in our calves we must first understand just what a muscle cramp is.

A muscle cramp is an involuntary spasm of the muscles that we are unable to relax or stop. Usually muscles in the body, including the calf, work in pairs – one muscle contracting the other relaxing at any one time. In a muscle cramp both muscles are contracting and spasm, causing a painful sensation in our muscles that we need to 'stretch out' – which is a method of trying to force one then the other muscle to relax and stop cramping.

There are numerous causes of muscle cramp – some of which relate to cramp after exercise. It is important that we understand the causes so that we are able to address them and help alleviate muscle cramps in calves.

• Dehydration – often a major factor

• Low electrolyte levels

• Over doing it physically

• Trying a new regime

As you can see there are a few ways that you can get muscle cramps that are directly related to exercise. It s unlikely that you will ever completely eliminate getting cramp from your routine, but by paying attention to how you get cramp, and how you overcome it, you should be able to stop yourself hopping around in pain anywhere near as often as you do now.

Obviously the first aspect is to stop dehydration. Not quite as simple as it sounds though. In theory drinking a lot of water before, as and after you exercise will keep you hydrated. BUT by doing it that way, using water, you flush away electrolytes – which as we see is also a problem that causes cramping – a lack of electrolytes hits our body hard.

The best bet then is to rehydrate using beverages that are high in electrolytes. This can be simply a drink of your favourite soda. But in most cases the best source of electrolytes are sports drinks – they are specifically designed to rehydrate your body using what it needs, including electrolytes.

The other aspects that are causing muscle cramps in calf muscles are more difficult to avoid. Trying a new regime uses slightly different parts of the muscles than we are used to – which causes us to 'over do it' in a certain area. But the only way that we are going to improve our fitness is by varying things and pushing our body to the limits.

The best way to avoid muscle cramps in calves are in fact relatively simple

• Stretch before and after exercise to keep muscles and tendons loose

• Rehydrate regularly using electrolyte rich sports drinks

• Try to focus on a whole body work out rather than targeting specific muscles (not always possible or ideal)