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Muscle Cramping During Exercise: Causes, Solutions, and Questions Remaining
Ronald J Maughan1, Susan M Shirreffs2
1School of Medicine, St Andrews University, St Andrews, Scotland, UK. rm282@st-andrews.ac.uk.
Sports Medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)
|November 8, 2019
Summary
Muscle cramps, often painful involuntary muscle contractions, have uncertain causes and cures, especially during exercise. Research suggests different cramp types may stem from various mechanisms, indicating a single prevention or treatment strategy is unlikely to succeed.
Area of Science:
- Exercise physiology
- Neuromuscular disorders
Background:
- Muscle cramps are intense, involuntary skeletal muscle contractions with uncertain causes, particularly during or after exercise.
- Potential contributing factors include dehydration and abnormal spinal reflex activity secondary to muscle fatigue.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the causes and potential treatments for exercise-associated muscle cramps.
- To evaluate the roles of dehydration and spinal reflex activity in cramp development.
Main Methods:
- Review of medical records from industrial settings and athletic field trials.
- Experimental models using electrical stimulation or voluntary contractions to induce cramps in controlled laboratory settings.
Main Results:
- Experimental models suggest spinal pathways play a role in cramping, but dehydration did not affect stimulation frequency required for cramping.
- Laboratory findings' relevance to spontaneous exercise cramps is questionable.
- Existing folk remedies show inconsistent effectiveness in preventing or treating cramps.
Conclusions:
- Different types of muscle cramps likely exist, initiated by distinct mechanisms.
- A universal approach to cramp prevention or treatment is improbable due to underlying mechanistic diversity.
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