Do you ever get muscle cramps whether SCUBA diving, or on land? The most common cramping while diving happens in the calf muscles, and we’re all taught to take a beat, grab your fin tip and pull it back and hold until the cramp releases. That works for a simple calf cramp, but have you ever stretched out one cramp only to have muscles on the opposite side of the leg cramp up? This can really be anxiety-inducing under water.
Let’s take this beyond the water. Ever get them at night? How about cramping that occurs for absolutely no reason at all? At my clinic, we often treat people with severe muscle spasms that inhibit their ability to get a good night’s sleep, or worse, when they are working or enjoying activities. I’m often asked by clients how to avoid muscle cramps. Well, there’s good news, and bad news.
The good news is that there are steps you can take to mitigate, and often, eliminate, these involuntary and unwelcome spasms that occur when a muscle forcibly contracts and cannot relax. Spasms can happen in a portion of a muscle, all of the muscle, or…worse…a spasm can expand to recruit the spasming of a group of muscles.
Experts really aren’t certain as to the causes of charley horses, but there are factors that play into muscles going haywire. Theories include contradictory things like: not stretching enough, exercising too much or leading a sedentary lifestyle, sitting for too long or even standing too long. It pretty much seems like you’re damned no matter what you do. What seems to be missing from this equation are two simple factors for the body: hydration and electrolyte balance.
Electrolytes are your essential minerals: sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, calcium, and salt. These nutrients carry an electrical charge and when you’re properly hydrated, every cell in your body is able to conduct energy properly for nerve and muscle fiber firing. Staying properly hydrated allows every cell to be properly plumped up, and with a happy flow of sodium and potassium ions across the cell wall, the mitochondria of the cell power along instructing every cell in your body to perform at their peak. If you ever find you’re thirsty, so is every other cell in your body!
A patient of mine who presented with crippling muscle spasms bemoaned that she should probably start eating more bananas but that she hated them. I hate them too. They’re not even that high in potassium. I think eating a banana to stave off muscle cramping must have been a marketing campaign akin to the “Got Milk” ads from the Dairy Council. There are plenty of foods out there that will give you even more potassium than a banana. Bananas are pretty high in sugar too, and we all know we’re supposed to cut down on sugar. If you want to eat your nutrients, you have plenty to choose from. Basically, all beans are loaded with the stuff. A potato – whether a russet or a sweet – have more than twice the amount of potassium than a banana. And eating mixed nuts gives you a wonderful trifecta of sodium, potassium, and magnesium.
I have laboriously made several charts of foods high in potassium, magnesium, and calcium, and I made pdfs for you to download and keep as a reference, and I’m trying to figure out how to attach them in this post so you can have a handy reference.
Age is also a factor. If you’re over 50, for some reason, muscle cramping, and worse, nocturnal cramping, can sneak into your life at unexpected times. Obesity and alcohol are also factors that can contribute to spontaneous cramping.
STEPS TO TAKE TO REDUCE / ELIMINATE MUSCLE CRAMPS
- Stay hydrated! Water not only minimizes wrinkles, but it keeps every cell plump and working properly
- Maintain your electrolytes – whether through food, supplements or beverages that both hydrate and keep you electrified!
- Don’t exercise heavily before SCUBA diving – overheating muscles can make them cramp once you hit the water
- Do light stretching before getting in the water – but don’t overdo it
- Reduce alcohol intake in the evening as this is related not only to cramps but restless leg syndrome
- When a cramp attacks, grasp the muscle and knead it gently at first then work deeper to help release its grip
The bad news is, despite all your best efforts of exercising, stretching before going to bed, staying hydrated and popping a potassium & magnesium supplement, you may still find the occasional muscle cramps sneaking up on you. However, following a good self-care protocol has been shown to dramatically decrease the incidence of cramps, duration and intensity of them. So stick to a good regimen and you should be golden in and out of the water!
