foot cramps?!?!?!?

Superfly poses another set of possibilities. The one that got my attention was the drinking of water too much so it depletes the body of essentials to thwart off foot/toe cramps. I live in such a very hot and humid place year around, I know I drink a minimum of a gallon of water each day, so this one kind of makes sense. Another poster here gave me a suggestion that I haven't tried yet but will. There is a product called Rehydrate and it is available through Advocare on the web. It is specifically for hydration/cramping. I'll give it a try. I am very worried about this problem when I try my long swim, so I will give this product a try now, during my training, to find out if it works for this body of mine. Donna Just a shot in the dark Donna, try Pedialite/Pedialyte it for kids and babies when they've been sick and getting dehydrated...it's a bit like gatorade but not as good tasting. It might be better than Gatorade.

And here I thought I was the only one to get those annoying cramps in my arches. Mine occur when I've not been swimming regularly and the workout calls for some (relatively) fast freestyle sets. I've always just assumed that they are caused by fatigue from kicking coupled with the impact of flip turns. I don't get the cramps when I swim all the time, just when I'm coming back.

Well, I will certainly try Pedialyte but I have to order that from the States. I live on this island and we are only jungle; no pharmacy that I would call as such. We have a gas station that the front of it is a gas station, the middle section is a bar, and the back section is a pharmacy. Leaves a lot to be desired. But maybe I'll have my sister send me some pedialyte; I have to order everything from the States, even Advil. But I'll certainly give this a try; I have to find SOMETHING to stop the foot/toe cramps!!! And so far, Rum and Coke isn't hacking it. (LOL). Donna

Donna, Pedialyte is basically water with sugar and salt added. It is the most commonly used dehydration product in the world. In third world countries the public health system gives away the formulas or publishes the amounts to be made from table salt and sugar. I would think Slow K would be a better solution, if it is a question of potassium depletion, which is the main cause of cramps. I have some cramps on the fascia side of the foot which would not be related to normal cramps. These are on the curve of the foot and are similar to the popular plantar fascittis of the runners. It is not like a leg cramp, and is not related to either lack of electrolytes or too much usage. I sometimes get it when doing flip turns and coming off the wall too strong without proper warming up. As for Advil, have you tried looking for the generic ibuprofen? I kind of doubt they wouldn't have any NSAIDs in Honduras. Try asking for the brand name Motrin which is even better than Advil, as it contains 600 and not the 200 mgs of the over the counter USA equivalent. Last thoughts, I see a lot people eating bananas at meets and even our former star tennis player Kuerten would eat some in between games. Banana is famous for its potassium, but to get it into your blood stream and doing some good would take plenty of time from the banana in stomach to the potasium in cell time. Banana eating is good, but on a regular basis not for immediate results. Basically, isotonic drinks do no harm, being well hydrated before swimming does no harm, and empyrical use of Slow-K will do no harm. I guess stretching and warming the fascia plantar of the feet and later icing would do no harm either. Take care, billy fanstone (former recreational runner, trying to swim a better butterfly, and with a day job of giving anesthesia (sometimes a night job too). )

My personal off-the-wall theory is that foot cramps so prevalent in swimming are partly due to the position of the body being horizontal rather than upright. I think that human circulatory sytems are designed to cope with gravity pulling blood downward so it doesn't pool. So we are doing something a little weird. I've also had my feet go numb and crampy on a semi-recumbant stationary bike. As far as helpful advice, the usual: water, fruit/bananas, and weather it until you're in better swimming condition. I've seen a few faked cramps too ... milked to get out of a tough set. :)

I get horrible foot cramps. Mine are because of my plantar faciatis, so make sure you don't have an underlying problem that is causing your cramps. What has worked best for me, make sure you strecth your feet. Put the ball of your foot on the edge of a stair or pool, and push your heel down, it'll strecth the arch. Make sure you eat lots of bananas, lots of water, and you get plenty of calcium. Last time I was at the doc, she told me that calcium was a big contributor to cramps..which I didn't know. Good Luck!! p.s. Islandsox...Pedalyte is good when you've had a few to many Rum and Cokes too. :drink:

I sure do appreciate everyone's answers to this problem. I have found that bananas do help me and even though I have 20 banana tree plants in my yard, their rotation is limited, so I can't get bananas as often as I swim. Honduras does have some of the products mentioned here, but I live on the island of Roatan and everything has to be shipped in. The primary pain-killer is aspirin. We can get medications for malaria, but Advil type products are never found here. We have one pharmacy on the island and they don't carry ibuproferin or similar products. My sister does send down care packages to me from Texas every 4 months or so and that is how I get the things we need, medically. But I will start stretching like you all described, and try to get more potassium n my body. Now that I think of it: when I was training for the Olympic trials, we always took salt tablets. They, from time-to-time irritated my stomach, but I never, ever had cramps of any kind. And because I live in a hot and humid place, I am losing both sodium and potassium from sweating so much thus leading to horrible toe cramps. Hmmmm.... Great advice here. Donna

Donna, Be careful with the salt tablets especially if you may be dehydrated. The loss of total body water can lead to an elevated blood sodium level that taking salt tabs can exacerbate leading to some rather unpleasant side effects. The water loss leads to an increased concentration of in the vascular system. Good luck.

I had forgotten about those. They didn't give them to the swimmers, but I remember they had salt tables for the football guys and I believe for some of the other sports. Heck, I use fake salt most of the time to cut dowm my sodium comsumption (fake salt is salt with less sodium and little added potassium and citrate, tastes funny but you get used to it, this information only for the non dieters aboard). That was way before the isotonic drinks. My friends from the running world gave advice on taking the Slow-K or another potassium pill on the week previous to running the marathon. I am lazy, look it up on the google, they probably have tons of information on potassium supplements. Somebody above mentioned calcium, and it is used somewhere in the process of avoiding cramps. The little I knew on the subject way back I have forgotten. And Larry, I do knock people out for a living, although mostly babies and kids doing a CAT Scan or MRI. Mostly I give ladies epidurals for C-sections and other operations specific to women. Okay, I give them a little something to feel good, mainly Midazolam, (Versed in the U.S.), maybe some morphine? Take care, and Donna, have your sister send you one of those huge bottles of advil, I think they have them with 500 pills. billy fanstone

Thanks Larry and Fanstone, I don't do salt tablets anymore; that was WAY back in the 60s; and I so appreciate your words, Fanstone, medically speaking. It is wonderful living on a Caribbean island, but when people choose to do so, they have no idea the limited items of need they will encounter. Thus, shipping companies and airlines are my favorite people!!! Donna