Image: Corbis
Think Before You Drink
No better way to shake off that hangover than a kick-around in the morning? Maybe. No better way to force your muscles into a cramp? Definitely. Alcohol leaches sodium and potassium from your body and if you remain dehydrated, sodium stores will be depleted further, creating ideal conditions for a cramp.
“Sodium is vital for nerve impulses,” says Edward Winter, a Sheffield Hallam University physiology professor. “Depletion causes mismatched signals.” This means your body can’t control its muscles properly. That’s still no excuse for punching the referee, though.
Just Add Water
Halftime and you’re feeling fine – you’ve had a good run and the fresh air has cleared your head. But as a cramp normally occurs when a muscle that spans two joints – such as your calf – is repeatedly contracted and relaxed, that slight twinge means something’s in the post. “As tired muscles are prone to cramp, it occurs mainly towards the end of an activity,” says Winter. So don’t spend halftime bemoaning your defence. Instead, keep warm and get some fluid inside you.
Stretch Yourself
You’ve seen sports medics and PE teachers do it: straighten the leg as much as possible and bend your toes up to stretch the muscle as far as you can. This will force out your cramped muscle and help it to relax again. But don’t think you can leap up and start making like Kaka immediately. “The muscle is still fatigued,” says Winter. “And the cramp process is easy to re-trigger until the muscle rests for a while.” So maybe drop back into defence for the next 10 minutes to recover.
Run Into Trouble
Running around puts your muscles under extra stress. When they are fatigued like this, they have a tendency to contract and need a signal from your central nervous system to tell them to relax again. When this doesn’t happen, the muscle will contract and stay that way. You’ll get an inkling this is happening when you feel an agonising stab of pain and collapse on your back, howling.
Go Nuts
A handful of salted peanuts can help with sodium depletion (but avoid that jumbo bag of potato chips). However, you may not be out of the woods yet. “If you’ve over-exerted yourself, your nerve impulses will be overloaded and still send signals to and from your fatigued muscles,” says Winter. Stretching during the rest of the day and before bed can significantly reduce the risk of cramping up at night. The only thing worse is having the other leg go on you too, then realising that you need to head to the loo.
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