Causes and treatments for leg cramps Copyright (c) 2007 Mary Ann Copson
One former customer sent me this question about her chronic leg cramps.
? I noticed with the increased exercise that I get a lot of cramping in the lower legs. The cramps are usually in response to intense prolonged walking or running. My personal trainer suggested that I might miss magnesium, so I have been taking magnesium, but I have not seen any improvement. Suggestions?
There are many possibilities. Although nutritional deficiencies are likely, I look first body mechanics. Often, a long-term undiagnosed or misalignment of the hips / pelvis causes cramps in lower legs. Even a misalignment of your shoulders and upper back can lead to cramps in the lower legs. A good osteopath or a chiropractic adjustment can do wonders for that.
A common cause for these kinds of cramps is poor body mechanics during exercise. Your approach can be turned off. You can not have the kind of good walking shoe for your body. Your posture can not be in proper alignment and operation can be overdone. You can check the body mechanics with your personal trainer, chiropractor, osteopath, a practitioner of the Alexander Technique or cranial sacral / therapist zero balance.
Muscle cramps related to exercise might be the result of an imbalance in the body? Electrolyte balance? minerals such as potassium, calcium and magnesium. Take a good green glass contributes to this. Moreover, a good multi-mineral supplement can work well. I support a mixture of coral calcium that contains magnesium and potassium and trace elements. A deficiency in vitamin E may also cause muscle cramps.
Related to electrolyte imbalance is to ensure that you stay well hydrated during exercise and throughout the day. Dehydration is a common cause of muscle cramps. Unless you're an endurance athlete, plain cool water is preferred to replace fluids during exercise. Drink plenty of water before, during and after exercise, but be careful not to over-hydrate during exercise.
Although some people think that universal guidelines hydration exercise can be followed by others that it is too easy to over-hydrate (hyponatremia - a problem causing disturbances in electrolyte balance of liquid that can cause severe reactions neurological) and recommend a formula to determine the sweat rate and the appropriate amount of fluid intake during exercise.
Drinking too much or too little during exercise can cause problems and you should be aware of your own fluid needs during exercise. The actual amount of water consumed during exercise should be based on an individual? C. Sweating To determine the rate of weight training is one hour before and after exercise. Subtract the weight after weight training pre-training. Then add to the amount of liquid consumed during the workout. This corresponds to the hourly rate of training.
A loss of 1 pound of body weight equals 16 ounces of liquid. If you have lost a pound during a workout and drink 16 ounces during the workout, your hourly sweat rate is 32 ounces. This means that you should drink 8 ounces every 15 minutes. Weight gain in pre-post training means that you have over-hydrated before or during training.
In addition to maintaining good hydration during exercise, it is important to avoid hydration before exercise. ounce to maintain adequate hydration throughout the day, drink half of water per kilogram of body weight during the day.
Muscle cramps are also related to the acid / alkaline balance. An acid body is likely to feel sore and cramping after exercise. To see if you are acidic, some paper and test your urine pH in the morning.
year results in acid and lactic acid if you are already an increase of lactic acid can cause muscle cramps and ACH.
Posted on March 7, 2010.
