Causes of cramp

haha, i must agree. have you tried the stuff called pickle juice (PJ)? it comes in a bottle and i've found it at a couple of local grocers. it's not just the juice from a jar of pickles, its supposedly specially formulated to stop cramps, and it works! i used it during an 80k bike rally at the last stop when i was just starting to cramp, and as i drank the 2 or 3 oz. that were given to me by a volunteer, the cramps and cramping feeling went away in my legs entirely. 

i've never heard of that other stuff but it sounds like it works. PJ is the only thing i've ever seen for cramps. and i think cramps have something to do with a lack of water and/or electrolytes in your muscles. your muscles flex, and their isnt enough water between the muscle fibers or electrolytes to tell your body to get the water to your mucles (or both) and they just kind of lock up. or at least that's how i understand it. please let me know how it really works. thank OP for posting this btw

I've heard other people mention pickle juice too but have never seen it myself. I'm glad it's not just straight juice from a pickle jar tho. That would be downright weird....

There's a good sized anti electrolyte pill brigade here on PT (hey Rick you've been elevated to a whole brigade all by yourself ) but I don't think it's right to make a blanket statement that no body needs them. Clearly electrolyte replacement works for some people or circumstances, but it's still somewhat of a mystery.

My guess is the crampstop formula is some kind of electrolyte formula. It contains Arnica, Mag Phos, Cuprum Met, Nux Vom (if that means anything to anyone).

Gerrard

I'm relatively new here, so not too familiar with the holy wars that you mention (though  I think I can maybe guess how they go).

But I can say that as far as I know from reading (I'm no expert, and rarely cramp myself, so take this with a grain of salt -- pun intended) the causes of cramping are still very poorly understood.

For example, this is from a 2007 article:

"Muscle cramps are involuntary, painful, spasmodic contractions of the skeletal muscle. Although cramps are a common clinical complaint, their etiology and management have not been well established." (J Am Acad Orthop Surg, Vol 15, No 7, July 2007, 425-431)

and this is from a 2008 article:

"Exercise Associated Muscle Cramps (EAMC) is one of the most common conditions that require medical attention during or immediately after sports events. Despite the high prevalence of this condition the etiology of EAMC in athletes is still not well understood" (Br J Sports Med. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2008.050401)

Now, the authors of both of these articles go on to speculate about the causes based on the authors' own work, and in both cases they conclude something other than electrolyte imbalance, but they are cautious in their conclusions, and continue to recognize that theory, and several others, as a live option. 

There are many more statements (of inconclusiveness) in the literature.  I think it is fair to say that the scientific jury is out on this one.

Another angle I just thought of: I drink a lot of water.

And  mean A LOT (6 - 8 litres a day). Have done for 20+ years and no I don't have diabeties!

Perhaps if I'm not eating right the all the water flushes electrolytes out electrolytes leaving me prone to cramp.

That doesn't really explain why I was cramping towards the end of races (although taking cramptop and electrolyte pills got me though an IM last week with no late cramp problems), but might account for when I have got the occasional cramp in the early morning walking down stairs or at the start of a training session.

Ok maybe I'm grasping at straws now. I don't claim to have any scientific evidence, but am happy to float ideas around in case it's useful to others.

Gerrard

If you are cramping at all times of the day NOT while doing exercise, then yes, you probably have an electrolyte imbalance.

But to continue to beat a dead horse .......

THERE IS NO LINK BETWEEN EXERCISE INDUCED CRAMPING AND ELECTROLYTE "IMBALANCES."

Yes, you are grasping at straws.

Congrats on your (cramp-free) IM.  My bet is your IM training got you through, not the cramptop & e-pills, but whatever.

Ah you almost had me convinced there for a moment guys.

Interesting comment about traning getting me through rather than the pills etc. In a 1/2 IM 8 weeks ago I was taking the pace very easy but cramped towards the end of the run. That race was at the end of a recovery week so no other specific taper for it.

Pre IM I was tapering, then had most off the final week off due to being sick and over tired. Maybe that was sufficient rest which meant I wasn't going into the race with fatigues muscles.

Interesting to differentiate too between exercise induced cramp and cramp at the other times. So a cramp during my IM swim may not be exercise induced - it may be as a result of poor nutrition beforehand resulting in electrolyte imbalance. Imbalance is then restored with crampstop and no more cramp isues for the rest of the race.

Damn it, too many possibilities! Will just have to work on getting cramp more often so I can find a pattern!

Gerrard