I’m hoping that someone may be able to help me solve a problem. My wife is a talented triathlete, winning her age group (55-59) in several major triathlons over the past two years. She has signed up to do a full ironman distance (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run) in Wisconsin but she can't seem to swim past 1200-1400 meters before she gets leg cramps. She has consulted local swim coaches, tried all their suggestions and nothing works. It's a real problem and she is thinking of giving up on the race. Since she is 57 this may be her last shot at doing something she’s wanted to do for years. She has tried hydrating (with water and tonic water), stretching, had her technique evaluated for mechanics, etc. has anyone else had this problem and if so, what the solution? I’m desperate to help her but don’t know where else to turn. If you know of anyone who might be able to help, please let me know. Thank you.
Bruce
I've been getting tons of cramps lately. They often start in my toes, progress to my arches, then move up to the calf muscles and--after tennis--into some weird muscles on the inside of the upper thighs (weird in the sense that it is almost impossible to figure our what the opposing muscle is for these, and thus you can't do the old trick of contracting the opposing muscle to relieve the cramp.)
A couple years ago, I read something on pickle juice in the New York Times and have been planning to give it a try. I will post back after a week or so of imbibing.
How much should you take, and when should you take it?
I found one site that gives prescriptive advice: about two ounces of pickle juice about 10 minutes before exercise begins.
Here's an excerpt:
Sidebar - A Shot A Day
We have been using pickle juice to prevent and treat muscle cramps at the University of Northern Iowa for the past three years. Primarily, the athletic training staff has used it as a last resort in treating or preventing exercise-associated muscle cramps. When all of the previously mentioned preventive techniques—proper conditioning, nutrition and hydration, and stretching—have been tried and have failed, we add pickle juice to the athlete’s pregame regimen. We have found that by giving two ounces of pickle juice to the athlete 10 minutes before exercise, even the most chronic cramper can remain cramp-free during high-intensity exercise.
Pickle juice also seems to effectively treat acute muscle cramps. We first found this out when an athlete who was on a pickle-juice regimen forgot to take his dose before a game. When he suffered severe bilateral cramps in his gastrocnemius, he was taken out of the game and given two ounces of pickle juice. The cramps were completely gone within 30 seconds. We have tried this technique with other athletes and found it to be universally effective, with the great majority of cramps not recurring.
Usually, two ounces of pickle juice will treat and prevent any cramp. There have been a few situations where the athlete was suffering from muscle cramps in more than one area, or the cramp was in a large muscle group, like the abdomen, and he or she was then given additional pickle juice. It is imperative that the athletic trainer advise the athlete to continue hydrating, keep a balanced diet, and to take pickle juice in moderation.
Additionally, we have treated muscle cramps by giving two ounces of straight vinegar to athletes who were experiencing an exercise-associated muscle cramp. It was found that the involuntary contraction went away in 15 to 30 seconds and did not recur. Although the straight vinegar has worked, it is very difficult for athletes to consume straight vinegar. Pickle juice is more palatable and has been accepted better by the athletes.
Vinegar is the obvious common ingredient in both mustard (which is used by some athletic trainers) and pickle juice. But, as yet, there is no experimental research that has explained the mechanism of how these treatments work.
You can read the whole thing at www.momentummedia.com/.../cramps.htm
I've been getting tons of cramps lately. They often start in my toes, progress to my arches, then move up to the calf muscles and--after tennis--into some weird muscles on the inside of the upper thighs (weird in the sense that it is almost impossible to figure our what the opposing muscle is for these, and thus you can't do the old trick of contracting the opposing muscle to relieve the cramp.)
A couple years ago, I read something on pickle juice in the New York Times and have been planning to give it a try. I will post back after a week or so of imbibing.
How much should you take, and when should you take it?
I found one site that gives prescriptive advice: about two ounces of pickle juice about 10 minutes before exercise begins.
Here's an excerpt:
Sidebar - A Shot A Day
We have been using pickle juice to prevent and treat muscle cramps at the University of Northern Iowa for the past three years. Primarily, the athletic training staff has used it as a last resort in treating or preventing exercise-associated muscle cramps. When all of the previously mentioned preventive techniques—proper conditioning, nutrition and hydration, and stretching—have been tried and have failed, we add pickle juice to the athlete’s pregame regimen. We have found that by giving two ounces of pickle juice to the athlete 10 minutes before exercise, even the most chronic cramper can remain cramp-free during high-intensity exercise.
Pickle juice also seems to effectively treat acute muscle cramps. We first found this out when an athlete who was on a pickle-juice regimen forgot to take his dose before a game. When he suffered severe bilateral cramps in his gastrocnemius, he was taken out of the game and given two ounces of pickle juice. The cramps were completely gone within 30 seconds. We have tried this technique with other athletes and found it to be universally effective, with the great majority of cramps not recurring.
Usually, two ounces of pickle juice will treat and prevent any cramp. There have been a few situations where the athlete was suffering from muscle cramps in more than one area, or the cramp was in a large muscle group, like the abdomen, and he or she was then given additional pickle juice. It is imperative that the athletic trainer advise the athlete to continue hydrating, keep a balanced diet, and to take pickle juice in moderation.
Additionally, we have treated muscle cramps by giving two ounces of straight vinegar to athletes who were experiencing an exercise-associated muscle cramp. It was found that the involuntary contraction went away in 15 to 30 seconds and did not recur. Although the straight vinegar has worked, it is very difficult for athletes to consume straight vinegar. Pickle juice is more palatable and has been accepted better by the athletes.
Vinegar is the obvious common ingredient in both mustard (which is used by some athletic trainers) and pickle juice. But, as yet, there is no experimental research that has explained the mechanism of how these treatments work.
You can read the whole thing at www.momentummedia.com/.../cramps.htm
