Muscle cramps when cycling - TOUR explains
No matter how good he is at the moment, Thomas Goldmann can get it at any time on the last few kilometres of a long tour. It announces itself with a harmless twitch in his front thigh - and seconds later the entire muscle is painfully cramped. Ride on? Not a chance. "If the cramp was in my calf, I could just kick it away," reports Goldmann. "But if the thigh cramps, all you can really do is click off and stop. Once I even had cramps in both legs at the same time."
The TOUR online editor has been struggling with muscle cramps for a good ten years. Once, during a phase when the symptoms were particularly frequent, he even went to his GP: "He did a few tests to rule out neurological causes, but couldn't find anything. He gave me general advice that I should drink a lot and eat a balanced diet."
The muscle often calms down when I shift into a higher gear, i.e. continue riding at a lower cadence (Thomas Goldmann, TOUR online editor)
After all, once Goldmann has stretched the cramp away on the road, the muscle usually remains calm for the rest of the ride. "Only sometimes, if I haven't had much to drink during the day, do the cramps come back at night after the ride and wake me up," says the 34-year-old, who covers 5,000 to 8,000 kilometres a year.
In a muscle cramp, known as a "spasm" in medical terminology, a muscle or part of a muscle suddenly contracts strongly, sometimes with severe pain. It feels as hard as a rock, contracts seemingly for no reason and without any voluntary control. Theoretically, any skeletal muscle in the body can cramp.
Almost everyone is familiar with nocturnal calf cramps or a cramp in the foot when swimming, for example. 90 per cent of adults have experienced muscle cramps. The risk seems to increase with age: Around one in two people over the age of 65 have a cramp at least once a week. It also appears to be genetically determined whether someone is prone to cramps during sport or not.
Muscle cramps when cycling - new findings on the cause
"The calf muscles are most frequently affected by muscle cramps," says Prof Dr Michael Behringer, sports physician and head of the Sports Medicine and Performance Physiology department at Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main. "However, other muscles can also be affected when cycling, such as the foot or thigh muscles." Like Thomas Goldmann, the TOUR editor with the cramping thighs. What Behringer says next fits in with what Goldmann experiences on long rides: "Muscle fatigue plays an important role when it comes to cramps during sport."
Scientists used to assume that muscle cramps were the result of an electrolyte deficiency. "But the evidence for this theory is not particularly good," reports the Frankfurt sports physician. This means that there is little scientific evidence to support this statement.
According to Behringer, who has done a lot of research into muscle cramps in sport during his career, the cause is more neurological: "The spinal cord, which controls the muscles, always receives inhibitory and activating information. According to recent studies, during muscular fatigue there is an imbalance between the inhibitory and activating information - in favour of the latter."
Nerve cells thus activate the tired muscle excessively and it reacts with maximum contraction. Scientific studies with local anaesthesia confirm the theory: if the researchers blocked the nerve fibres from the muscles to the spinal cord in their test subjects, only significantly weaker spasms could be triggered, reports Behringer.
A cramp in training is primarily unpleasant, but not dangerous - as long as you keep control of the bike. It's similar in a race, but a cramp on the course can make the difference between winning and losing, placing or dropping out. Releasing the cramp as quickly as possible and loosening the affected muscles is advisable simply because of the severe pain.
Stretching is the best immediate measure, advises Behringer: "This brings the imbalance between inhibitory and activating feedback information back into balance, towards more inhibition." If you have a calf cramp, you don't even have to get off your bike. It is possible to stretch the calf while riding - simply press the heel down with the pedal down until the pain subsides.
A stronger stretch occurs if you briefly get out of the saddle in a horizontal pedalling position - with the affected leg behind - and stretch the calf while standing. A cramp in the front thigh is relieved by pulling the heel up towards the buttocks, preferably while standing, and one in the back thigh by bending the upper body forwards with the leg stretched out. Cramps in the feet are particularly nasty on the bike - they often only disappear if you remove your foot from the cycling shoe and stretch your toes or massage the sole of your foot. Relaxing massages and warmth are good after a cramp.
Muscle cramps when cycling - drinking plenty of fluids is and remains important
Of course, it would be better - and less painful - not to spend time stretching at the side of the road in the first place, but to cycle without cramps and prevent uncontrolled muscle contractions. After all, it is no coincidence when a muscle cramps. To prevent cramps during sport, all measures that improve fatigue resistance are suitable, says sports physician Behringer: "Although the studies are more in favour of the nervous system being the problem, cyclists should always make sure they drink plenty of fluids, especially when the outside temperature is high."
According to an international study, the fact that sports enthusiasts search the internet for solutions to their cramp problems, especially in the hot summer months, suggests a link between sweat production - i.e. fluid loss - and a tendency to cramp.
What also helps against premature muscle fatigue: training or a sensible, customised training structure so that the muscles are not overstrained; regular stretching of shortened muscles. And then there is the matter of the riding position. Cramps often occur in joint positions in which the muscles are shortened, meaning that the muscle insertion and origin are rather close together.
Home remedies for cramps
With this in mind, it could be worthwhile addressing the cramp problems with a professional bike fitting, says Behringer: "If this allows the joint angle to be adjusted in such a way that the degree of muscle shortening is reduced." If the foot muscles are cramping, moving the cleats or changing cycling shoes could be a comparatively simple solution anyway.
Sports physician Behringer and his research group - formerly in Cologne, now in Frankfurt - have developed and tested another therapy option against cramps, known as electrotherapy. The idea: people who are prone to cramps have a lower cramp threshold. If their muscles are trained with electrical impulses, this threshold can be shifted, making a cramp less likely. What sounds simple is actually quite painful: with electrical stimulation, the frequency of the impulses increases until a real cramp is artificially created.
Although the therapy appears to be very effective and, according to studies, has a long-term effect, Behringer therefore only recommends this measure for severe cramp problems: "I would only recommend electrotherapy to people who are suffering a lot." For example, people who can no longer sleep at night because of cramps, or professionals who want to avoid cramps during a race.
It is less painful, but also less effective, to take magnesium against cramps during sport. The mineral plays an important role in every muscle contraction in the body, so there is an obvious connection. However, it has not been scientifically proven that taking magnesium as a dietary supplement prevents cramps. According to the German Nutrition Society, magnesium deficiency is rare with normal dietary and lifestyle habits.
Nevertheless, there is a home remedy for cramps that almost everyone has in the fridge: Cucumber water. According to studies, the vinegar broth in which jars of gherkins are pickled has a soothing effect. "For a long time, it was assumed that this was due to the electrolytes it contains," says Prof Dr Michael Behringer. "However, it seems more likely that the vinegar content activates certain receptors in the mouth and throat and has an antispasmodic effect on the nervous system." However, Behringer's team has only been able to determine a short-term effect in studies. Does this justify cucumber water in a bike bottle? A matter of taste.
Going to the doctor
If hydration is ensured, the riding position is perfect and the training programme is exemplary, sometimes the only option is to go to a doctor's surgery. A more detailed examination is particularly useful for recurring cramps in order to rule out other causes, says Behringer: "Cramps can also be a symptom of various illnesses." Hormonal and metabolic disorders, for example, liver problems or nerve dysfunction. Some medications, such as those used to treat high blood pressure, asthma, COPD (a chronic lung disease) or Alzheimer's disease, can also increase the tendency to cramp.
After the initial consultation, the doctor will check the reflexes, joints and muscles, among other things. He then usually orders a blood test to check the mineral supply, muscle enzymes or hormone levels.
TOUR editor Thomas Goldmann has not yet found the reasons for his cramps, but at least he has ruled out any serious health issues. As a preventative measure, he has already tried salt tablets, a pinch of salt in his water bottle and magnesium supplements, "but I haven't noticed any major differences". He feels comfortable on his bike; it's been four years since his last bike fitting.
Although cramps still sometimes catch up with him, he can now deal with them better. Because they announce themselves slowly: "I can now often feel my thigh closing up just before the cramp," reports the 34-year-old. "The muscle often calms down when I shift into a higher gear, i.e. continue cycling at a lower cadence." Home, where the legs can recover.
Muscle cramps when cycling
Do
+ Drink enough, especially in the heat
+ Optimise riding position (incl. cleats)
+ Build up training sensibly
+ Stretch regularly
+ Checking the side effects of medication
Leave
- drink alcohol before or during an excursion
- come home with full bike bottles
- overextend themselves in training
- neglect regeneration
- Ignore recurring cramps
Coffee stop?
If you are prone to cramps, you may want to reconsider your coffee consumption. Caffeine dehydrates the body, which can upset the fluid balance and probably increases the risk of cramps. To avoid having to give up your favourite espresso, you should drink a large glass of water with every cup - at least.
Muscle cramps when cycling - Drinks against cramps
Before the journey
Ingredients
- 1-2 large pinches of salt
- Lemon concentrate
- 6 tbsp mint syrup
- Water
Preparation
Pour the mint syrup into a 0.7 litre wheel bottle, add salt and a dash of lemon and fill up with water.
During the journey
Ingredients
- 1-2 large pinches of salt
- 3 tbsp cranberry syrup
- Passion fruit nectar
- Water
Preparation
Pour the cranberry syrup and salt into a 0.7-litre wheel bottle, fill it half full with passion fruit nectar and then with water.
(Source: Federal Centre for Nutrition)
