Ever experienced painful leg cramps? Do you get leg cramps while running? Do you get woken up at night with agonising leg cramps? If you do, you’re not alone. This is quite a common complaint in runners. There are many possible causes and many recommended treatments. In this article, Leg Cramps | What Causes Leg Cramps in Runners, we take a deep dive into this painful problem.
On this page
- WHAT ARE LEG CRAMPS
- WHAT CAUSES LEG CRAMPS
- HOW TO TREAT LEG CRAMPS
- HOW TO PREVENT LEG CRAMPS
- WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR
- WRAPPING IT UP
WHAT ARE LEG CRAMPS?
Leg cramps are quite a common problem. It’s not just runners or athletes who are affected, anyone can experience them.
Muscles impacted are most commonly the calves, however, feet, hamstrings, quads and other thigh muscles can be susceptible to cramping.
Essentially, a muscle cramp is a sudden, painful and completely involuntary contraction of the muscle.
It can happen at seemingly random times. During a run, at night in bed, even when resting. There is no way to predict when they will strike.
Let’s take a look at what causes these painful cramps.
WHAT CAUSES LEG CRAMPS?
Scientists have not been able to identify a definitive cause of muscle cramps, there are just too many variables. However, there are a number of suspected reasons why you might suffer them, it may even be a combination of these.
So let’s take a look at some of these possible triggers.
Dehydration
- Whilst studies haven’t revealed a direct link between dehydration and muscle cramps, it is thought that in combination with muscle fatigue, dehydration is a very likely cause.
Magnesium and Potassium Deficiency
- These are vital minerals and electrolytes, in fact, magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body. Both are required for effective muscle performance. It is estimated that up to two-thirds of the population may be deficient in these minerals. A deficiency in these two nutrients is implicated in muscle cramping.
Salt Loss
- Salt, or sodium, is another important electrolyte. Sweating is a major cause of salt loss. As runners, this is important, especially during a long run. Excess sweating during an extended period of exercise can lead to low sodium levels, which is thought to contribute to muscle cramping.
Muscle Tightening At Night
- Many people suffer leg cramps at night, often being woken up with painful muscle spasms. This is not a rare occurrence either, up to 60% of the adult population will experience a leg cramp while sleeping. Calf muscle spasms are the most common form of nocturnal leg cramp and it is the foot position while sleeping that is the most probable cause. With the foot extending down, or away from the body, possibly weighed down with blankets, there is a shortening of the calf muscle, this results in them being more susceptible to cramping.
Muscle Fatigue
- This is especially relevant to athletes and sportspeople in general, but for us runners even more so, particularly long-distance runners. Studies done with football teams in the US have found a link between muscle fatigue and the prevalence of leg cramping. The studies also uncovered a possible link to lack of muscle stretching being another trigger.
Standing Long Periods of Time
- Another possible trigger for increased incidences of leg cramping could be working in a job that requires you to be standing for extended periods of time, particularly where you do not move around much.
HOW TO TREAT LEG CRAMPS
Most occurrences of leg cramp will resolve themselves with a few seconds or minutes. However, there are a number of self-treatment options that may help.
Stretching
- When a cramp occurs, try stretching the muscle. For example, if the cramp is in the calf muscles, try flexing your foot up and down to relieve the symptoms. Sometimes, if it’s a night cramp, you will have to get out of bed and stretch by walking on your heels or toes to get some relief. Another leg cramp stretch is to sit on the floor, stretch out your leg in front of you, grab your toes and gently pull your toes back towards you.
Massage
- Gently rubbing or massaging the area will help to dissipate the cramp symptoms. Use your hands or a foam roller to loosen up the muscle and relieve the pain.
Apply Heat or Cold
- Apply heat to the tight muscle using a warm towel or jumping into a warm bath or shower. After using the heat for a while you can then apply an ice-pack in a towel to calm down that tender muscle.
HOW TO PREVENT LEG CRAMPS
Completely eliminating random leg cramps from occurring is highly unlikely if you are prone to them. However, there are preventative measures we can take that may reduce the frequency and severity of them.
Hydration
- Making sure you have sufficient fluid intake during the day is not only important from a general health perspective but particularly important if you are prone to cramping. Dehydration, along with muscle fatigue, is one of the major causes of muscle cramping.
- Taking note of your urine colour is one way to determine if your fluid intake is sufficient. A light yellow to clear colour is preferable, dark yellow indicates you need to be drinking more. As runners, we need an even greater water intake to compensate for fluid loss during exercise. And no, coffee and alcohol etc are not suitable fluids, sorry.
- Use an electrolyte drink when running and make sure you take in plenty of fluid, especially in hot weather.
- Here are a couple of excellent electrolyte/hydration products that can be added to water. Science in Sport Hydro tablets and Hydralyte Sports Electrolyte tablets.
Magnesium
- Many people swear by using magnesium supplements to help with muscle cramps. You can even find magnesium muscle cramp treatments in the vitamin aisle at your local chemist. Alternatively, there are some great natural sources of magnesium in foods such as almonds, peanuts, spinach, cashews, soy milk, black beans and cooked brown rice.
Stretching
- This is an important preventative treatment for leg cramps, especially for sportspeople.
- Stretching your leg muscles, particularly your calves, before bed may help lessen the risk of experiencing nocturnal leg cramps.
- Calf stretching. Regular gentle stretching of the calf muscles 3 times a day for about five minutes each time may help and is worth trying. You will need to do this for 3 to 4 weeks to guage if there is any improvement in the frequency and severity of the leg cramps. Stand in front of a wall with your feet slightly apart and about half a metre to a metre away from the wall. With your arms on the wall, lean forward until you feel your calves beginning to stretch. Keep your feet flat on the floor, don’t lift your heels.
- Making sure you perform some dynamic stretches before your running workout, especially in cold weather. We wrote about the best way to stretch in an article about Running Myths, check it out here.
Toe Position at Night
- As mentioned previously, if your toes are pressed down and extended away from your body by the weight of blankets etc, this can tighten the calf muscles and increase the risk of a cramp occurring.
- Try sleeping with a pillow behind your knees if you sleep on your back.
- Avoid tucked in bedding or heavy blankets. Try reducing the weight on your feet by using untucked sheets and a light doona (duvet/comforter) that does not compress or force your feet downward.
- If you sleep on your stomach, try sleeping with your feet hanging over the edge of the mattress to reduce any pressure that may lead to a cramp.
Start Out Slow
- Practice pacing yourself in events and long runs. Starting out at a steady pace and building as the run progresses is key to not only successfully completing the run but also avoiding leg cramps. Blasting out of the blocks at high intensity before the muscles have had time to warm up properly or adapt to the demands of the workout increases the risk of injury and cramping.
Massage
- Regular sports massage is a great way to relieve muscle tightness after a run. Massage can also be effective in treating soreness after experiencing a cramp and may also help in prevention. Using a foam roller at home to alleviate some of the tightness in your leg muscles can also help.
WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR
Leg cramps are usually short lived, lasting anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. However, if you are suffering severe and persistent cramping you should see a doctor. Your doctor may want to test for vitamin deficiency or some other underlying cause such as a reaction to medication, diabetes or artery problems.
WRAPPING IT UP
In most cases, leg cramps are not a cause for concern. They are usually mild and short-lived.
As we have seen, there are several ways you can explore to prevent leg cramps from occurring. This may be a process of elimination over time to see which methods work best for you.
Treating leg cramps is generally something you can do yourself, but as always, if they are severe, occur frequently and cause lingering pain in the muscles it’s probably best to seek medical advice.
I’d be interested to hear if any of you experience leg cramps, how you treat them and any prevention tips you might have. Please let us know in the comments section below.
Happy running.
Steve
This article is for information purposes only and is not a recommendation to act on any of its content. It is always recommended you consult your healthcare practitioner before engaging in any activity that may affect your health.
