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	Cramps

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Sometimes runners get cramps during or after a long or hard run.

I don’t have any experience with cramping during a run, but I’ve had plenty of cramps after I run. Here is a list of the most probable causes and how to prevent them:

• Not warming up enough A proper warmup will prevent you from shocking your body. Not enough warm up is what causes you to have a side stitch.
• Lack of moving Sitting for extended periods of time without much movement. This can happen because you are sitting in a car or airplane or sleeping. Periodically shift your weight and move your feet and legs some. Get up, move around, and stretch as often as possible. Massage your legs or use a foam roller always moving towards your heart and do Leg Drains to move waste products from your legs to your torso where your body is better able to metabolize them.
• Dehydration After every run try to make sure you replenish all the water you lost on the run. This can be several pounds. It’s fun to weigh yourself before and after. Do this while you are naked and dry to get more accurate results. When you are thirsty, you are about 16 ounces low in water. You should not be thirsty and your urine should be a light yellow in color. See Hydration
• Over-hydration Having too much water in your system will dilute the very important electrolytes.
• Electrolytes Cramps during a run may be the first symptom that you have an electrolyte deficiency or imbalance. Your body needs to replace the salts that it used to produce sweat. Sport drinks help. Base Electrolyte™, Hammer Endurolytes™, and Nuun™ are good options which can be taken as pills or tablets or powder that can be incorporated in your hydration or nutrition. See Electrolytes.
• Potassium Bananas are a good source that can be eaten before or after a run. Molasses and dates also contain a lot of potassium. You can include them in your nutrition. See Nutrition
• Calcium Lack of calcium is another cause. My doctor recommended taking Tums™ as a calcium supplement.

But this doesn’t do you a lot of good when the excruciating pain of a cramp hits your thigh or calf or somewhere else in your body.

First of all try to stand on the leg and put pressure on it to straighten it out. If it is another part of your body try to stretch it. If the cramp is in your calf, standing and trying to put weight on that leg will help. As the muscle starts to relax and stretch the pain will lessen. But don’t try to over stretch it.

I’ve also had some success with squeezing my lower lip between my teeth, that is biting it, but not so hard as to draw blood. You just want to put good firm pressure on it. I don’t know if it is the distraction from the original source of pain or if there is some physiological reason. This did seem to help me once when I got a cramp in a tent and couldn’t stand up.

Gently massage the constricted muscle to encourage it to relax. Once it has relaxed carefully move it around to get more blood flowing into the area. This may trigger another cramp so be prepared.

With a really severe cramp, you may have actually bruised the muscle and it may take a few days to totally relax and heal. Just be patient and treat it tenderly.

A side stitch is a type of cramp. It is usually caused by not enough warmup before a hard workout.