General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Charley horses Rss Feed  
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2017-05-06 1:06 AM


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Subject: Charley horses
I am a reasonably overweight individual, 5'10" 210 lbs, who has been doing long distance triathlon for about 4 years (the only love I have that beats out my love of endurance sports is my love of pizza and beer). Given this dynamic I have built a pretty muscular lower body to carry my chubby upper body. Problem: Charley horses in my calves and feet. Absolutely brutal ones, I can usually abate the acute pain quickly but the remnant minor pain from an incident can linger for a day or more. What sets it off is "unusual" movement, pool ladders are a big one (I essentially can't use a pool ladder without getting a painful charley horse) but also occasionally on the bike, especially should I have to do a weird maneuver suddenly that involves a large change in pedaling power. It's not the end of the world. Since it's only during "strange" movements it tends to not affect me during races. It's just a pain in the bum. Any advice besides "lose weight and eat more bananas"?


2017-05-07 9:59 PM
in reply to: d.rock90

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Subject: RE: Charley horses

Things I would try if it were me......

rolling on a foam roller, or gentle massage with the  runners stick, magnesium supplements or soak in a warm epsom salt bath, make sure you are drinking enough water.

Hope you get some relief!

2017-05-08 6:28 AM
in reply to: d.rock90

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Subject: RE: Charley horses
I cramp up in my feet when I swim. Just one foot for a short while. I typically just move it around and kick less with the foot until it goes away.

I found stretching my arches helps quite a bit. The cramps are much less severe now. If I really do a good job stretching before a swim, I can avoid them completely.

By the way, I recently lost about 6.5 pounds with a goal to lose about 9 (I'm thinking in kilos and so the strange numbers- 3 kilos with a goal to lose 4 kilos). I can definitely feel the difference on my runs. I highly recommend it. I'm a beer drinker myself but I've been limiting myself to one time per week (I cheat a little). Just making a few changes here and there was enough for some weight loss for me.
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