Cramping
The information / discussion in the Cycling Health Forum is not qualified medical advice. Please consult your doctor.
-
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:35 pm
Cramping
Postby AlSach » Mon Jan 23, 2012 3:40 pm
I have been cycling for a couple of year, but never really been over 50kms...
Lately i have been training and at about the 60-70 km mark consistently i get cramps in my VMO (inside top quads)
I can run for 2 hrs no probs so this cramping is a new thing for me
Does anyone experience this ?
How do you manage it ?
Any pointer would be greatly appreciated !
Al
-
- Posts: 139
- Joined: Wed Nov 25, 2009 7:58 pm
- Location: Palmyra. WA
Re: Cramping
Postby GregW » Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:44 pm
Do you mean the area near your knee?
Could be any number of reasons......bike fit, pushing too hard( cadence) magnesium, potassium etc etc.
First thing I would do is visit a reputable sports physiotherapist, and find out what is going on.
Being a runner I take it you are fully aware of muscle fatigue problems etc.
As a Masters runner and track athelete, and although I love riding, cycling can be very unkind on the legs......especially if you have any underlying small issues, and bike fit is not spot on.
- PawPaw
- Posts: 1244
- Joined: Sat Dec 10, 2011 7:53 am
- Location: Brisbane
Re: Cramping
Postby PawPaw » Mon Jan 23, 2012 4:50 pm
hydration -> see AIS or Sports Dietitian Australia recommendations
nutrition -> adopt diet in alignment with NH&MRC guidelines
previous injury causing adhesions and fibrosis which are compromising local blood flow -> get a good deep tissue sports massage with advice on how to stretch appropriately.
rate of exercise progression - volume and intensity -> get advice from an experienced cyclist or coach on how not to overtrain, or ramp intensity too steeply.
asymmetrical loading -> have pedal technique assessed for symmetry.
- ozdavo
- Posts: 997
- Joined: Mon Jul 25, 2011 12:03 pm
- Location: Gold Coast (nth)
Re: Cramping
Postby ozdavo » Mon Jan 23, 2012 5:01 pm
(magnesium is the only daily supplement I take, for exactly this reason)
- Mulger bill
- Super Mod
- Posts: 29060
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
- Location: Sunbury Vic
Re: Cramping
Postby Mulger bill » Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:16 pm
One for the health page methinks, over it goes.
London Boy 29/12/2011
-
- Posts: 123
- Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:24 pm
- Location: Adelaide
Re: Cramping
Postby mmhbeer » Mon Jan 23, 2012 8:44 pm
Just try a few things and see what works for you.
- ozrider
- Posts: 324
- Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2009 2:41 pm
- Location: Melbourne
Re: Cramping
Postby ozrider » Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:11 pm
My bike set up is now pretty much spot on but is now highlighting these weak spots on my legs.
As I push my distances out they should get stronger, no pain, no gain.
Hopefully in the long run it will all be worth while.
..But they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs!
- sogood
- Posts: 17168
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 7:31 am
- Location: Sydney AU
Re: Cramping
Postby sogood » Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:14 pm
1) Hydration - Drink well and avoid dehydration.
2) Electrolyte - Supplement electrolytes and replenish losses from sweating (Ca2+, K+ and Mg2+ are key). Not too different to the management of cardiac arrhythmia.
3) Neuromuscular - Train for better endurance and pre/post exercise stretching exercises.
You'll have find which of these parameters work for you. YMMV.
RK wrote:And that is Wikipedia - I can write my own definition.
-
- Posts: 20
- Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2012 12:35 pm
Re: Cramping
Postby AlSach » Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:26 am
I will go see a physio to check for weakness.
Also check out those nutrition pages.
Appreciate it !
- frailer5
- Posts: 978
- Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:25 am
- Location: Sydney
Re: Cramping
Postby frailer5 » Tue Jan 24, 2012 5:50 pm
Interesting. Way back in the early 80s I had a major quad seize up, precipitated by a long bike tour with a mate, then a week-long car trip with GF. Silly, but I paid for it. Now getting less severe, intermittent, cramping after recently doing commuting and rec. riding on a road bike. Previously did rec. riding on an MTB with road tyres, but a break for about 18 months. Frame on roadie is a pretty good fit, nil probs with dickie knee, (attributable to the BioPace cranks? ...who knows).ozdavo wrote:Hydration & Magnesium supplements.
(magnesium is the only daily supplement I take, for exactly this reason)
Have been trying to do quad stretches, though obviously not diligently enough. Shall give the magnesium a go, for sure. Oh, and work on the stretches better!
Ricardo Elite, '87 Keith Davis/Pegasus, '92 Team Miyata Ti.
- foo on patrol
- Posts: 9013
- Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:12 am
- Location: Sanstone Point QLD
Re: Cramping
Postby foo on patrol » Tue Jan 24, 2012 8:11 pm
Foo
Goal 6000km
- frailer5
- Posts: 978
- Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2011 9:25 am
- Location: Sydney
Re: Cramping
Postby frailer5 » Wed Jan 25, 2012 10:16 am
Ricardo Elite, '87 Keith Davis/Pegasus, '92 Team Miyata Ti.
-
- Posts: 292
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:57 pm
- Location: North of Cairns
Re: Cramping
Postby Meditator » Sun Feb 19, 2012 2:03 am
I was on a retreat for 10 days and ate only the food provided. Unlike everyone else there i ate only teh cooked food and did not eat any processed foods such as jam, peanut butter or vegemite which would have plenty of salt. ON day 4 i noticed cramp like pains in my calves. These continued for a couple of days before i decided to test my salt solution. I asked the cook for salt and started adding it to my meals. Just a pinch at each meal. Within two days the pain had gone.
Throughout this period i had been drinking plenty of water and doing little physical exercise but if you are lacking salt, you can still get dehydrated because salt is one of the things that regulates the amount of water you have in your body.
Also the home cooked food on this retreat was vegetarian and very healthy. It included prunes, oats, lots of fruit and veges and grains and legumes so there would hardly have been a mineral deficiency of any sort due to insufficient intake.
Perhaps when people take magnesium tabs, there is something else in them which is closer to NaCl.
All that said, i don't know if my calf cramps have anything in common with cramps in other parts of the body because its only ever been toe and calf cramps that have come in the middle of the night. And now when i think back on it, one loses water during the night so it makes sense that when dehydrated one would have night cramps.
I really think there is a strong link between cramps and salt. its such a simple remedy, perhaps its worth trying. You don't even need to go and buy electrolyte sachets.
Everyone knows we need about 1 tps a day of salt, don't they, though this will vary for bigger people and very active people.
-
- Posts: 1421
- Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2010 7:00 pm
- Location: W.A
Re: Cramping
Postby Marty Moose » Sun Feb 19, 2012 6:14 pm
Great post I was dehydrated badly about a year ago even though I was drinking heaps of water due to a lack of salt in my body, I even had a hacking cough because of it. Since then I take magnesium and have salt on my food problem fixed.Meditator wrote:My take on cramps is that you are dehydrated from loss of or lack of body salts, not necessarily magnesium. However, i only ever get cramps in my calves and i do not usually get them during a ride. But i have been observing my tendency to cramps for a few years now and recently i was in a position to notice something that proved my theory.
I was on a retreat for 10 days and ate only the food provided. Unlike everyone else there i ate only teh cooked food and did not eat any processed foods such as jam, peanut butter or vegemite which would have plenty of salt. ON day 4 i noticed cramp like pains in my calves. These continued for a couple of days before i decided to test my salt solution. I asked the cook for salt and started adding it to my meals. Just a pinch at each meal. Within two days the pain had gone.
Throughout this period i had been drinking plenty of water and doing little physical exercise but if you are lacking salt, you can still get dehydrated because salt is one of the things that regulates the amount of water you have in your body.
Also the home cooked food on this retreat was vegetarian and very healthy. It included prunes, oats, lots of fruit and veges and grains and legumes so there would hardly have been a mineral deficiency of any sort due to insufficient intake.
Perhaps when people take magnesium tabs, there is something else in them which is closer to NaCl.
All that said, i don't know if my calf cramps have anything in common with cramps in other parts of the body because its only ever been toe and calf cramps that have come in the middle of the night. And now when i think back on it, one loses water during the night so it makes sense that when dehydrated one would have night cramps.
I really think there is a strong link between cramps and salt. its such a simple remedy, perhaps its worth trying. You don't even need to go and buy electrolyte sachets.
Everyone knows we need about 1 tps a day of salt, don't they, though this will vary for bigger people and very active people.
MM
- Semar
- Posts: 3544
- Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:14 pm
- Location: Goulburn Valley
Re: Cramping
Postby Semar » Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:33 am
And my regular dosing with magnesium is keeping the exertion headaches at bay.
-
- Posts: 292
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:57 pm
- Location: North of Cairns
Re: Cramping
Postby Meditator » Sat Feb 25, 2012 6:30 pm
Its probably a good idea to read this before you go popping magnesium pills like it was a cough lolly. Though innocuous compared to other substances, you can over do it. And overdoing things nearly always results in unwanted effects, even if it takes years.
Given the health claims that aren't made, i'd say the magnesium thing is overblown like most dietary supplemental recommendations.
- Semar
- Posts: 3544
- Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 6:14 pm
- Location: Goulburn Valley
Re: Cramping
Postby Semar » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:10 pm
Gosh I do need to be careful. Fart lighting is definitely out.
- foo on patrol
- Posts: 9013
- Joined: Sat Dec 19, 2009 11:12 am
- Location: Sanstone Point QLD
Re: Cramping
Postby foo on patrol » Sun Feb 26, 2012 9:03 am
Foo
Goal 6000km
-
- Posts: 845
- Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:12 am
- Location: Perth, WA
Re: Cramping
Postby Rex » Sun Feb 26, 2012 10:20 pm
I've reduced it by :
drinking plenty of water all day
mag supplements
plenty of salts
stretching after riding
-
- Posts: 292
- Joined: Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:57 pm
- Location: North of Cairns
Re: Cramping
Postby Meditator » Mon Feb 27, 2012 2:46 pm
Its not hard to get enough magnesium and as the wiki entry mentioned nothing about cramps, i strongly suspect this is a myth which is must spread by everyone saying it. So long as you doing teh real curative treatments, you wouldn't know what effect the magnesium is having.
-
- Posts: 845
- Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 12:12 am
- Location: Perth, WA
Re: Cramping
Postby Rex » Thu Mar 08, 2012 11:00 am
I haven't thrown the Magnesium in the bin yet, but I take it before bed instead of on wake-up.
I have also made an effort to increase salt.
Definitely less cramping.
Will remove Mag from diet completely and maintain salt increase and see what happens.
Meditator wrote:Rex for an experiment, why not try just increasing your salt intake and keeping your water intake up as usual. Salt and water balance works in harmony. No need to overdrink but if salt level is down, water level will be down too. Leave out magnesium and see if you still get cramps or not?
Its not hard to get enough magnesium and as the wiki entry mentioned nothing about cramps, i strongly suspect this is a myth which is must spread by everyone saying it. So long as you doing teh real curative treatments, you wouldn't know what effect the magnesium is having.
- Dobo
- Posts: 108
- Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:15 pm
- Location: Baldivis
Re: Cramping
Postby Dobo » Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:01 pm
- scotto
- Posts: 2380
- Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2009 9:38 am
- Location: Baulkham Hills
- Contact:
Re: Cramping
Postby scotto » Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:21 pm
d - all of the above. Sogood is always correct. i wonder about his/her background. please dont be a (occupation removed to avoid offense) !sogood wrote:Cramping is a multi-factorial problem. Successful therapy include,
1) Hydration - Drink well and avoid dehydration.
2) Electrolyte - Supplement electrolytes and replenish losses from sweating (Ca2+, K+ and Mg2+ are key). Not too different to the management of cardiac arrhythmia.
3) Neuromuscular - Train for better endurance and pre/post exercise stretching exercises.
You'll have find which of these parameters work for you. YMMV.
- General Australian Cycling Topics
- Info / announcements
- Buying a bike / parts
- General Cycling Discussion
- The Bike Shed
- Cycling Health
- Cycling Safety and Advocacy
- Women's Cycling
- Bike & Gear Reviews
- Cycling Trade
- Stolen Bikes
- Bicycle FAQs
- The Market Place
- Member to Member Bike and Gear Sales
- Want to Buy, Group Buy, Swap
- My Bikes or Gear Elsewhere
- Serious Biking
- Audax / Randonneuring
- Retro biking
- Commuting
- MTB
- Recumbents
- Fixed Gear/ Single Speed
- Track
- Electric Bicycles
- Cyclocross and Gravel Grinding
- Dragsters / Lowriders / Cruisers
- Children's Bikes
- Cargo Bikes and Utility Cycling
- Road Racing
- Road Biking
- Training
- Time Trial
- Triathlon
- International and National Tours and Events
- Cycle Touring
- Touring Australia
- Touring Overseas
- Touring Bikes and Equipment
- Australia
- Western Australia
- New South Wales
- Queensland
- South Australia
- Victoria
- ACT
- Tasmania
- Northern Territory
- Country & Regional
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users
- All times are UTC+11:00
- Top
- Delete cookies
About the Australian Cycling Forums
The Australian Cycling Forums is a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.
Bicycles Network Australia
Forum Information
Connect with BNA
This website uses affiliate links to retail platforms including ebay, amazon, proviz and ribble.