Well, I have written about my problems with this in the past and since I am training for a long swim and suffer from both foot and leg/thigh cramping, I have been experimenting with vitamins. I did the Gatorade (too much sugar), I did the private product things, and I stumbled across many websites that mentioned taking Calcium with Magnesium may be of benefit.
I started taking a Calcium pill and a Magnesium pill along with a separate vitamin that promotes good blood health (the B's), and all foot/leg cramping has completely stopped. Finally. It was preventing my being able to get past the 6 or 7 mile mark regularly. I started taking these supplements about 4 weeks ago. Since I returned to Roatan, I have not swam for 12 days due to ocean storms. Today was my first day back. I did a 6 miler and had no cramping at the 3 mile mark like I usually do.
So, it may be worth a try for people suffering greatly from this debilitating problem. I'm taking 384 mg of Magnesium, and the Calcium tablets have other ingredients, but the calcium is and of itself 334 mg. And of course I do know that we are all different and it may not work, but this, so far, has worked for me. I was about ready to do this: :whiteflag:
Donna
Parents
Former Member
An interesting article from the NY Times about muscle cramps...
Summary from www.sportsgeezer.com:
www.sportsgeezer.com/.../gina-kolata-on.html
Gina Kolata on the Mystery of the Common Cramp
"Geeky athletes who do the numbers know that cramps afflict 39 percent of marathon runners, 79 percent of triathletes, and 60 percent of cyclists at one time or another. What they don't know is why. Cramps are, as Gina Kolata writes in this New York Times piece, a medical mystery. The Times reports that cramps are commonly attributed to one of three factors: dehydration, electrolytic deficiency, and, more likely, an imbalance between nerve signals that excite a muscle and those that inhibit its contractions. Such an imbalance is more likely to occur when a muscle is growing fatigued. Geezer, who barely passed high school biology, goes with door number three.
Read more about what may cause cramps, but probably doesn't, in the New York Times..."
www.nytimes.com/.../14BEST.html
An interesting article from the NY Times about muscle cramps...
Summary from www.sportsgeezer.com:
www.sportsgeezer.com/.../gina-kolata-on.html
Gina Kolata on the Mystery of the Common Cramp
"Geeky athletes who do the numbers know that cramps afflict 39 percent of marathon runners, 79 percent of triathletes, and 60 percent of cyclists at one time or another. What they don't know is why. Cramps are, as Gina Kolata writes in this New York Times piece, a medical mystery. The Times reports that cramps are commonly attributed to one of three factors: dehydration, electrolytic deficiency, and, more likely, an imbalance between nerve signals that excite a muscle and those that inhibit its contractions. Such an imbalance is more likely to occur when a muscle is growing fatigued. Geezer, who barely passed high school biology, goes with door number three.
Read more about what may cause cramps, but probably doesn't, in the New York Times..."
www.nytimes.com/.../14BEST.html
