Killer leg cramps hours after a ride

In article vnG4b.128863$_V.125213
@news04.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com, says...

....

I drink water. Two of those large water bottles on this ride. I
guess I can try one of those sports drinks. It wasn't very hot, and
I was not sweating a lot. Is it "normal" for the cramps to hit hours
after a ride? Years ago when I did more riding I would sometimes
cramp up during a hard section of hills, but yesterday I felt terrific
through the whole ride. Makes me a little nervous about going again
today... (I'm leaving in a half hour anyway!)

Well, I've personally seen world-class athletes cramp up a significant
amount of time after the contest was over: a couple of weeks ago I was
at the WUSA playoff game, and about an hour after the game, Mia Hamm was
signing autographs when she collapsed to the ground, completely disabled
by cramps and unable even to walk to the locker room. It wasn't
extremely hot (mid-80's at game time), but was very humid, and soccer
doesn't give you much in the way of breaks to catch up on your water and
electrolyte intake.


--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 11:49:47 GMT, Keith Boone
wrote:

Dennis P. Harris wrote:
On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 01:46:43 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Keith
Boone wrote:


Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year.


your electrolytes are probably low! how much and what are you
drinking during these rides? you need to drink some athletic
drink like gatorade or powerade to restore your electrolytes.
low potassium is often the culprit --- bananas are a good source.




I drink water. Two of those large water bottles on this ride. I
guess I can try one of those sports drinks. It wasn't very hot, and
I was not sweating a lot. Is it "normal" for the cramps to hit hours
after a ride? Years ago when I did more riding I would sometimes
cramp up during a hard section of hills, but yesterday I felt terrific
through the whole ride. Makes me a little nervous about going again
today... (I'm leaving in a half hour anyway!)

I have always had periods of intense calf cramps like you describe,
and they always happen hours later. The worst are in my sleep. I think
that for me this could be related to hip problems or some other
chronic condition.

Doing some calf stretches and massaging before and after the ride
might help.

On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 11:49:47 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, Keith
Boone wrote:

I drink water. Two of those large water bottles on this ride. I
guess I can try one of those sports drinks. It wasn't very hot, and
I was not sweating a lot. Is it "normal" for the cramps to hit hours
after a ride? Years ago when I did more riding I would sometimes
cramp up during a hard section of hills, but yesterday I felt terrific
through the whole ride. Makes me a little nervous about going again
today... (I'm leaving in a half hour anyway!)

drinkiing water is good, but after a couple of quarts, you've
flushed a lot of electrolytes out of your system and they need
replenishment. that includes both regular salt and potassium
salts --- if it's hot, you sweat them away.

On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 13:25:07 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, "Peter
Cole" wrote:

Potassium has not been shown to help prevent cramps. It's a pretty good bike
food, except that it schmooshes easily and upsets some stomachs.

a potassium deficiency, however, can lead to meuniere's
syndrome(sp?), an inner ear disorder which can cause vertigo and
balancing problems. not what you want when cycling.

"Dennis P. Harris" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 13:25:07 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, "Peter
Cole" wrote:

Potassium has not been shown to help prevent cramps. It's a pretty good
bike
food, except that it schmooshes easily and upsets some stomachs.

a potassium deficiency, however, can lead to meuniere's
syndrome(sp?), an inner ear disorder which can cause vertigo and
balancing problems. not what you want when cycling.

Never heard of it happening to a cyclist, have you? Kind of like worrying
about scurvy, isn't it?

My experience is that I usually get cramps when getting up from a seated, or
cramped position, several hours after a hard ride. I have learned to be very
deliberate when getting up, not moving quickly. I also try to avoid staying in
a very fixed position for long periods of time (10+ minutes) after riding.
Very funny (but not for me) incident: driving home from a race, my
girlfriend and I decided to switch so she could drive. I pulled over on
freeway, jumped out of the driver's seat, and went into full cramp in both
legs, fell down on the pavement thrashing and screaming; cars pull over,
wanting to call 911, trying to help. I am in so much pain, I cannot even tell
people that I'm really OK. Five minutes later, cramps go away, we drive on, I
am humiliated.

Steve Scarich

Similar happened to me.
Over an hour after playing in a freshman lacrosse (never came out-switched
from midfiels to attack)
we stopped at a restaurant for lunch on the way home.
One leg (thigh) started to cramp, so I quickly got up and had the distinct
displeasure of having both thighs cramp up.
The trainer was 1 table away, enjoying his lunch, and I asked him what I
should do.
He didn't miss a mouthful as he said, "maybe you should take up golf...".
I finished my lunch standing up.




"FlashSteve" wrote in message
...
My experience is that I usually get cramps when getting up from a seated,
or
cramped position, several hours after a hard ride. I have learned to be
very
deliberate when getting up, not moving quickly. I also try to avoid
staying in
a very fixed position for long periods of time (10+ minutes) after riding.
Very funny (but not for me) incident: driving home from a race, my
girlfriend and I decided to switch so she could drive. I pulled over on
freeway, jumped out of the driver's seat, and went into full cramp in both
legs, fell down on the pavement thrashing and screaming; cars pull over,
wanting to call 911, trying to help. I am in so much pain, I cannot even
tell
people that I'm really OK. Five minutes later, cramps go away, we drive
on, I
am humiliated.

Steve Scarich

Keith Boone wrote:
Can anyone shed some light on this? I rode 60 Km today, probably
a little faster than my normal pace. I felt very strong during the
ride. Five or six hours after the ride I had a sudden, extremely
painful cramp in my left leg. This is the second such attack this
year. (Other years I had this problem more frequently)

I'm a 48 year old guy who rides 5 times a week on average. I'm not
particularly fast, and have riden around 3100 Km so far this year.
60 Km is a bit longer than my usual ride, although I do an occasional
100 Km without difficulty.

What can I do to avoid cramps like these. The pain was way off the
charts...


One, take (and drink) more fluids during your ride. You can use "sports
beverages", altho water is OK. Second, unless its medically inadvisable
for you, take a couple of ibuprofen before settling down for the
evening. These steps seem to have stopped the cramps (mostly thigh)
that woke me about 2 AM after a couple of hard early evening rides. I
don't seem susceptible to the problem with morning rides, so the change
from full exercise to full rest in a couple hours may have something to
do with the cramps.

"Peter Cole" wrote in message
news:08N4b.244314$cF.78452@rwcrnsc53...

"Dennis P. Harris" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 01 Sep 2003 13:25:07 GMT in rec.bicycles.misc, "Peter
Cole" wrote:

Potassium has not been shown to help prevent cramps. It's a pretty
good
bike
food, except that it schmooshes easily and upsets some stomachs.

a potassium deficiency, however, can lead to meuniere's
syndrome(sp?), an inner ear disorder which can cause vertigo and
balancing problems. not what you want when cycling.

Never heard of it happening to a cyclist, have you? Kind of like worrying
about scurvy, isn't it?

A woman at work was diagnosed with Meniere's Disease a couple months ago.
She was off work for 2 months doing things like falling into her closet
while trying to get out of bed. I had 8 hours of imbalance 10 years ago.
Couldn't get off the floor and spent the entire time hugging the toilette.
Last week I had it very lightly for 24 hours. Riding my bike made me
seasick. It's more like worrying about lightning bolts. What I read said no
know, no cure, no clue but 2.6 million sufferers in N/A & Europe. I'm not
officially one of them.

I usually eat a banana every day but beat cramps with more water and really
fast reactions when they come... relax!

Doug
Toronto

x-no-archive:yes


Cramps are a result of over-exertion. Significant dehydration may make
them
somewhat more likely. The best preventative is to back off the intensity a
little, and/or train more. After cramps strike, stretching and massage are
about the only remedies.

Funny, but I get cramps in the arches of my feet when I push off from the
wall wrong in swimming. I can bring my toes up toward my knee and after
awhile, it goes away. Sometimes, the only way to get these cramps out is to
push off forcefully from the other end of the pool!

So, for me, your above paragraph has not proven to be correct.

Pat in TX