Leg cramps??

Since I have regularly been going out 2-3+ times a week on 20+ mile long rides my mother has taken up cycling. She is in her 50's, just had a spinal fusion surgery in her neck in the past year and has degenerative cartilage in her knees that has required multiple surgeries.

She has worked her way up to doing 20+ miles herself on her own and is looking to progress further. She is complaining though that she occasionally gets leg cramps. I've never had a problem with leg cramps during any of my rides- anyone have any idea what she could do to avoid or help the problem??

I am thinking it might be an electrolyte/hydration issue? I have heard electrolytes/hydration for cramps- I drink stuff with electrolytes in it during the summer to avoid migraines. I am in New York but she is riding in Florida where temps go routinely above 80F. Considering she is on the other side of the country it is difficult to say if she is pushing herself past her limits but she tends to be conservative with that- so I wouldn't think she is necessarily overdoing it on the bike rides.

Tried recommending she try out some Gatorade or something but she was resistant to it since it had such a high sugar content.

She is 5'11" and is riding a hybrid bicycle.

 

Ouch! I'd say try a supplement like Actigin, it helped me out and I have better rides. Plus, fewer aches & pains. I've even toned up better since using it.

 

Thanks, I will look into it.

 

Look don't just start buying some supplement someone is recommending, that poster has some sort of interest in that company probably financial because he posted the same nonsense in another thread here and his post was totally unrelated to the question.

Leg cramps can be caused by many things, first try to hydrate with water better, her urine color should be a very pale yellow. If that doesn't work add some Gatorade to the drinking process, if you put Gatorade in a bike bottle do not use more than 33% of the recommended mix due to possible stomach irritation caused by constant physical exertion that cycling does; however she can drink a full strength glass of Gatorade before the ride. Don't start drinking Gatorade as a casual drink though, she only needs it just before going on a ride and during a ride, otherwise drink water. Also drinking soda can add to the frequency and severity of cramps so stay away from soda.

If that doesn't work then it's something either mechanical or biomechanical, those involve a lot of different possibilities, so try the above stuff first and if she still has problems come back and repost and we can look at the other possiblities. Always do the cheapest attempts at fixing a problem first before you go off and spend a bunch of money on stuff, and nutritional supplements aren't necessary is a person has a good balanced diet. I use to race for 10 years and never took supplements.

 

Yes, I agree. My family and I always try to use supplements last. That doesn't mean I won't look into them.

She is in Florida and riding in 80F+ degree heat; so I was recommending to her to drink some Gatorade and more water. Apparently she veto'd the Gatorade because it's high in sugar. Sigh. She's looking for something that will still give her the electrolytes without the sugar for her to try. Not sure what's out there on the market though since I always just drank Gatorade.

 

Nuun is an electrolyte tablet that is mixed with water. It is sugar free, I believe.

 

Once I started using Nuun, I stopped cramping.

 

I forgot to mention one thing, I did take a supplement, but not really a supplement, when I use to live in the desert and had issues with cramping, so I started to take, on the advice of an LBS in Bakersfield CA that raced in the RAAM races, to use a product called Stim-O-Stam (http://www.stimostam.com/) because the cramps weren't subsiding mostly due to the fact I was dehyarated to a degree but way low on Potassium so I had to build it back up, once it was built up I could reduce the intake of Stim-O-Stam. The same LBS in town highly recommended the cheap Gatorade product vs all the other expensive bike boutique stuff they sold, when I asked why they recommended Gatorade instead of the stuff they sell he, the owner, said because you asked for my advice, most riders come in here and say they want this or that product when Gatorade works just as good! For recovery drink they recommended chocolate milk! And chocolate milk is way cheaper. When they raced the RAAM they used Gatorade but they also took another recovery product which I can't recall the name now but they got it for free so they used it.