Persistent cramp
View Full Version : Persistent cramp
Ouch! This week I've been commuting on my touring bike,
which is faster than my normal commuter setup of MTB with
slicks. So I decided it was time to break double figures and
average over 10 mph over the entire week. (Stop laughing at
the back, that's fast for me.) So on Saturday I was cycling
home from shopping in the city centre, and with the added
incentive of a few drops of rain, cycling faster than I
normally do. This resulted in my right calf starting to
cramp up, so that the unstretched part of each stroke hurt.
Eventually I just had to stop to get off and stretch the leg
for a minute, before cycling the last 500 yards home.
Today I cycled slowly less than a mile to the supermarket,
and the cramp started to come back. Now my calf is cramping
even off the bike. I've never had cramp from cycling before,
so I've no idea whether this happens to everyone. A long
soak in a warm bath hasn't alleviated it. I'd be grateful
for suggestions as to how to make it stop. And any tips on
avoiding it happening again would be handy too.
--
A bad day on the bike always beats a good day in the office!
Steph Peters delete invalid from incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm
On Sun, 13 Jun 2004 21:58:01 +0100, Steph Peters
<urcy@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid> wrote in message
<ddfpc01de4dq1gqvcmogjt46j7c54uibc1@4ax.com>:
>Now my calf is cramping even off the bike. I've never had
>cramp from cycling before, so I've no idea whether this
>happens to everyone. A long soak in a warm bath hasn't
>alleviated it. I'd be grateful for suggestions as to how to
>make it stop. And any tips on avoiding it happening again
>would be handy too.
It depends on cause, but the cure could be any of:
- Water, especially during the day (i.e. when not riding)
- Lower gears
- Bananas
- Salt
- Indian Tonic Water
Honest. I get terrible cramp sometimes. Especially since
switching cassettes, making bottom gear 30" instead of 23",
which is seriously punishing up that long hill out of Goring
by Friday evening...
Guy
--
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk (http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/)
88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University
"Steph Peters" <urcy@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid> wrote in message
news:ddfpc01de4dq1gqvcmogjt46j7c54uibc1@4ax.com...
> Ouch! This week I've been commuting on my touring bike,
> which is faster than my normal commuter setup of MTB with
> slicks. So I decided it was
time
> to break double figures and average over 10 mph over the
> entire week.
(Stop
> laughing at the back, that's fast for me.) So on Saturday
> I was cycling home from shopping in the city centre, and
> with the added incentive of a
few
> drops of rain, cycling faster than I normally do. This
> resulted in my
right
> calf starting to cramp up, so that the unstretched part of
> each stroke
hurt.
> Eventually I just had to stop to get off and stretch the
> leg for a minute, before cycling the last 500 yards home.
>
> Today I cycled slowly less than a mile to the supermarket,
> and the cramp started to come back. Now my calf is
> cramping even off the bike. I've never had cramp from
> cycling before, so I've no idea whether this happens
to
> everyone. A long soak in a warm bath hasn't alleviated
> it. I'd be
grateful
> for suggestions as to how to make it stop. And any tips on
> avoiding it happening again would be handy too.
> --
> A bad day on the bike always beats a good day in the
> office! Steph Peters delete invalid from
> incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid Tatting, lace &
> stitching page
<http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm> (http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm)
>
I get cramp occasionally - usually like you in the calf.
In my case it's usually down to dehydration - not enough
so you would usually notice but in the weather we have at
the moment the couple of glasses of red wine the night
before will catch up with you unless you drink more water
before you start out; even better the night before. Once
you've got it the best thing is to get rid of the swelling
which follows the initial cramp before you resume
activity. Usual method is to put your foot up and apply
alternate hot and cold 10 minutes at a time. For heat use
one of those microwaveable hot water bottles - not so hot
that you'll burn!. For cold el cheapo frozen peas kept for
just such an occasion. Oh and curtail the exercise until
the soreness has gone.
HTH Julia
"JBB" <Jbb@messages.co.uk> of BT Openworld wrote:
>I get cramp occasionally - usually like you in the calf. In
>my case it's usually down to dehydration - not enough so
>you would usually notice but in the weather we have at the
>moment the couple of glasses of red wine the night before
>will catch up with you unless you drink more water before
>you start out; even better the night before.
Ah, that explains it. A modest amount of beer and wine the
night before, warm weather and maybe slightly less water
intake on the day concerned.
>Once you've got it the best thing is to get rid of the
>swelling which follows the initial cramp before you resume
>activity. Usual method is to put your foot up and apply
>alternate hot and cold 10 minutes at a time. For heat use
>one of those microwaveable hot water bottles - not so hot
>that you'll burn!. For cold el cheapo frozen peas kept for
>just such an occasion. Oh and curtail the exercise until
>the soreness has gone.
If the cramp is still around tomorrow, I'll dig the gel pack
out of the freezer. Managed to give myself housemaid's knee
by falling off my MTB onto the corner of a rock a few years
back, and it's easier to take a gel pack to stick in the
freezer at work than a pack of frozen peas, so I bought one.
--
A bad day on the bike always beats a good day in the office!
Steph Peters delete invalid from incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm
in message <ddfpc01de4dq1gqvcmogjt46j7c54uibc1@4ax.com>, Steph Peters
('urcy@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid') wrote:
> Ouch! This week I've been commuting on my touring bike,
> which is faster than my normal commuter setup of MTB with
> slicks. So I decided it was time to break double figures
> and average over 10 mph over the entire week. (Stop
> laughing at the back, that's fast for me.) So on Saturday
> I was cycling home from shopping in the city centre, and
> with the added incentive of a few drops of rain, cycling
> faster than I normally do. This resulted in my right calf
> starting to cramp up, so that the unstretched part of each
> stroke hurt. Eventually I just had to stop to get off and
> stretch the leg for a minute, before cycling the last 500
> yards home.
>
> Today I cycled slowly less than a mile to the supermarket,
> and the cramp started to come back. Now my calf is
> cramping even off the bike. I've never had cramp from
> cycling before, so I've no idea whether this happens to
> everyone.
I think it probably does. Certainly the limit of my
cycling is the ability to clear lactic acid out of my calf
muscles. I can usually feel it building up before cramp
actually sets in.
If you use clipless pedals, consider adjusting the position
of your cleats. I sorted out a problem for my SO who was
getting quite severe cramp just by changing the angle of her
cleats a tiny bit.
> A long soak in a warm bath hasn't alleviated it. I'd
> be grateful for suggestions as to how to make it stop.
> And any tips on avoiding it happening again would be
> handy too.
It's circulation. There's a measure of blood thickness
(IMR, if I recall correctly). If you have low IMR (i.e.
thick blood) as I do then the circulation in your legs is
sluggish and can't clear waste products out efficiently.
Talk to your doctor. A glass of red wine or an aspirin
every day may help, or if you're unlucky like me you may
have to take warfarin.
--
simon@jasmine.org.uk (Simon Brooke)
http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; lovely alternative to
rice.
Simon Brooke <simon@jasmine.org.uk> of gradually deteriorating wrote:
>If you use clipless pedals, consider adjusting the position
>of your cleats. I sorted out a problem for my SO who was
>getting quite severe cramp just by changing the angle of
>her cleats a tiny bit.
>It's circulation. There's a measure of blood thickness
>(IMR, if I recall correctly). If you have low IMR (i.e.
>thick blood) as I do then the circulation in your legs is
>sluggish and can't clear waste products out efficiently.
>Talk to your doctor. A glass of red wine or an aspirin
>every day may help, or if you're unlucky like me you may
>have to take warfarin.
Tips duly noted thanks. So far this is a complete one off -
I've never had cramp from cycling before, and it's years
since I've had cramp at all. If it happens again I'll talk
to my doctor. I do use clipless pedals, so I'll check that
the cleats haven't moved, but I think that they are OK.
--
Government is an association of men who do violence
to the rest of us. - Leo Tolstoy
Steph Peters delete invalid from incm@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
Tatting, lace & stitching page <http://www.sandbenders.demon.co.uk/index.htm
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