It is said that life lies in exercise, because exercise is very conducive to our health, but most people must have encountered sudden leg cramps during exercise. What about sports leg cramps? Let's have a look
What about leg cramps during exercise
1. In case of cramps, stop any movement immediately and put your feet flat on the flat ground as soon as possible.
2. Let your partner drag your cramped foot and pull the toe up. If your hands are not strong enough, your partner can use your foot to press the toe of the cramped foot, and then step down.
3. After you no longer feel cramped, you can gently massage the lower leg. If you still feel muscle pain and tension after massage, you need to apply cold compress, that is, pour cold water (preferably ice water) on the cramped part.
Three ways to deal with sports leg cramps
1. Mountaineering
Excessive exercise or poor posture during mountaineering cause poor muscle coordination, or suffer from cold during or after mountaineering, or sudden involuntary contraction of muscles due to a large loss of salt in the body.
Emergency treatment: pull and guide the affected muscles, straighten the affected areas, gently massage the affected muscles, replenish water and salt, and have a full rest until the affected areas feel comfortable.
2. Ride a bike
Rapid riding can easily cause cramps. When you feel signs, you should slow down and get off as soon as possible.
Fingers: the cramped hand clenches the fist first, then stretches it out and opens it. Repeat this action until it recovers.
Palm: the two palms coincide. Press the cramped palm with force, bend it backward, release it, and repeat the action until it recovers.
Arm: the cramped hand first clenches the fist, then bends the forearm to the shoulder, then stretches the arm and palm, and repeats the action until it recovers.
Toe: hold the cramped toe with your hand, pull back and repeat until you recover.
Lower leg: hold the toe on the cramped side with your hand, pull it back, press the knee with the other hand down, straighten the leg, and repeat until you recover.
Thigh: bend the thigh and knee to the front of the abdomen, embrace with both hands, release and straighten the leg, and repeat the action until recovery.
When a cramp occurs during cycling, in addition to emergency treatment, you should have hot compress and medicine massage for at least a few days after you go home, otherwise the cramp will easily occur again.
2. Swimming
In sports, especially in swimming, in case of calf cramps, do not panic, otherwise the cramps will be more severe due to improper handling, and even drowning accidents. At this time, you should immediately put away your cramped leg, stroke with the other leg and two arms, swim ashore and rest. In case of floating, you can float flat on the water, bend the cramped leg, take a break, and go ashore immediately when the cramp stops. You can also inhale and sink into the water, grasp the big toe of the foot on the side of the cramp with your hand, pull it up and fold it, straighten your knee at the same time, and come out of the water to breathe when you can't hold your breath; Then sink into the water and repeat the above actions; After repeated several times, the cramp can be relieved, and then quickly swim ashore to rest; When swimming to the shore, avoid excessive force on the leg on one side of the cramp to avoid cramping again. If calf cramps occur in other sports, you should rest in place immediately.
What causes cramps?
1. Cold stimulation
When the body is suddenly stimulated by the cold if there is no preparation or insufficient preparation in the cold environment, the stimulation is transmitted to the muscles through the nervous system to increase the excitability of the muscles, resulting in muscle tonic contraction and muscle spasm.
2. Too much solute loss
A lot of sweating during long-distance running, especially strenuous exercise for a long time, or exercise in a high-temperature environment, causes a large amount of electrolyte (such as sodium and chlorine) in the body to be lost from sweat, resulting in electrolyte balance disorder in the body, increased muscle excitability and muscle spasm.
3. Diastolic and contractile disorders of meat
In intense training and competition, because the muscles contract continuously and too fast, the relaxation time is too short, or the muscles contract suddenly and strongly, the coordinated alternating relationship between muscle contraction and relaxation can be destroyed, resulting in muscle spasm. This situation is more common in sprints and cycling events.
4. Dynamic muscle injury
Recent studies have shown that after muscle fiber injury caused by repeated exercise, calcium ions, the starting factor of muscle contraction, enter the cell membrane, increase the concentration of calcium ions in muscle cells, lose control of muscle fiber contraction, produce ineffective contraction, and cause local muscle spasm. Others believe that strenuous exercise causes local ischemia and produces some pain causing substances. When these substances accumulate to a certain extent, they will stimulate the pain nerve endings in the muscle, cause pain and reflex muscle spasm. This kind of muscle spasm is more common in marathon.
Prevent and relieve muscle spasm
1. Strengthen physical exercise and improve the body's ability to adapt to the cold. Make full preparations before exercise, and massage the muscles prone to spasm before exercise.
2. If you sweat too much in summer, you should supplement water, salt and vitamin B1 in time. You should pay attention to keeping warm in winter. Don't exercise violently when you are tired.
3. Muscle spasm can be relieved by traction of spasmodic muscles. For example, when the calf gastrocnemius muscle spasm, supine or sitting position, the knee joint is straightened. The tractor holds the patient's feet with both hands and stretches the affected ankle back. Do not pull too hard to avoid muscle strain. In addition, it can also be combined with local massage (such as kneading, kneading and pressing).