toe cramps

Guys, Thanks for all the replies. A couple notes/possibilities. It seems like I get two distinct species of cramps: these nettlesome toe cramps which happen at the beginning of practice, often when I first jump in the water. Then the more stubborn and vexatious calf and foot arch cramps, which tend to happen only after a grueling set when we switch to kicking (or, ironically, when we switch to pulling AFTER kicking.) I can't help but think the two types have different causes--the latter from general exhaustion/depletion of muscle resources from such a heavy load of exercise; and the former because of something more on the order of reduced circulation to the extremities exacerbated by the cold temperatures of winter. You know how in summer, wedding rings seem to threaten to cut off the circulation to your heat-bloated sausage of a wedding finger? And in winter, you always fear the ring will slip off your finger during practice in a cold pool? I just can't help but think blood shunting effects somehow figure in to the toe cramp phenomenon. I've tried most of the remedies suggested: stretching, eating salty crackers (I always pop a package of Toast Chee crackers to keep from bonking during our 5400 yard workouts.) I drink plenty of fluids, though this includes a lot of caffeine. forums.usms.org/.../hotcoffee.gif :coffee: For those of you interested, in hydration, I have an article in this month's Swimmer magazine, accessible at http://www.usmsswimmer.com/ if you don't receive the magazine itself. The article looks at what really constitutes optimal hydration (I'd be very interested in anybody's thoughts on this.) Anyhow, I am thinking about trying to take a hot shower before practice to warm up both my hands and feet before swimming, see if this opens up the arterioles and makes a difference. Again, thanks for all the suggestions. One of the things I like best about this forum is when you worry about some quirk of swimming physiology, you almost always find that many, many others suffer the same phenomenon--which, of course, tends to remove the problem from the realm of "potentially pathological" to "most likely normal albeit still somewhat of a nuisance." This mental shift, for me at least, tends to dissipate the concerns . Thanks! PS I mentioned the bananas primarily just so I could use the dancing banana icon. PS 2 If there are any doctors/exercise physiologists out there, here's a mystery I'd love to get solved. Why is it that muscle cramps, in general, stroke the legs, back muscles, etc. but almost never occur in the arms or shoulders? It seems to me that swimmers use our arms so much more than our legs, especially distance freestylers like me who try to kick as little as possible. Why don't we ever get arms cramps? Different proportion of muscle fiber types, maybe?

Guys, Thanks for all the replies. A couple notes/possibilities. It seems like I get two distinct species of cramps: these nettlesome toe cramps which happen at the beginning of practice, often when I first jump in the water. Then the more stubborn and vexatious calf and foot arch cramps, which tend to happen only after a grueling set when we switch to kicking (or, ironically, when we switch to pulling AFTER kicking.) I can't help but think the two types have different causes--the latter from general exhaustion/depletion of muscle resources from such a heavy load of exercise; and the former because of something more on the order of reduced circulation to the extremities exacerbated by the cold temperatures of winter. You know how in summer, wedding rings seem to threaten to cut off the circulation to your heat-bloated sausage of a wedding finger? And in winter, you always fear the ring will slip off your finger during practice in a cold pool? I just can't help but think blood shunting effects somehow figure in to the toe cramp phenomenon. I've tried most of the remedies suggested: stretching, eating salty crackers (I always pop a package of Toast Chee crackers to keep from bonking during our 5400 yard workouts.) I drink plenty of fluids, though this includes a lot of caffeine. forums.usms.org/.../hotcoffee.gif :coffee: For those of you interested, in hydration, I have an article in this month's Swimmer magazine, accessible at http://www.usmsswimmer.com/ if you don't receive the magazine itself. The article looks at what really constitutes optimal hydration (I'd be very interested in anybody's thoughts on this.) Anyhow, I am thinking about trying to take a hot shower before practice to warm up both my hands and feet before swimming, see if this opens up the arterioles and makes a difference. Again, thanks for all the suggestions. One of the things I like best about this forum is when you worry about some quirk of swimming physiology, you almost always find that many, many others suffer the same phenomenon--which, of course, tends to remove the problem from the realm of "potentially pathological" to "most likely normal albeit still somewhat of a nuisance." This mental shift, for me at least, tends to dissipate the concerns . Thanks! PS I mentioned the bananas primarily just so I could use the dancing banana icon. PS 2 If there are any doctors/exercise physiologists out there, here's a mystery I'd love to get solved. Why is it that muscle cramps, in general, stroke the legs, back muscles, etc. but almost never occur in the arms or shoulders? It seems to me that swimmers use our arms so much more than our legs, especially distance freestylers like me who try to kick as little as possible. Why don't we ever get arms cramps? Different proportion of muscle fiber types, maybe?