Discussion: Cramping and what to do about it

[DarkSkies]

First I thought I would lump this in among the other threads. After my experience yesterday, I saw how critical it could be to my safety, and figured it might be of use to others to talk about it if they also have issues with cramping.

And this doesn't have anything to do (for me) with personal physical fitness either. My legs are a dynamo, I used to win kickboard contests when on the swim team as a kid, and they served me well on the Pop Warner football team. They can take some abuse and I push my stamina each time with the Hobie pedal yak.

Yesterday, and some other times, I got severe cramps from pushing it too much, and had to find a place to get out and work them out.

Here's a trick that was handed down to me by Pebbles' Dad. I'm extremely grateful he taught me this, and wanted to share it with you folks:


When any cramping or "charley horse" occurs at any point in my body, I find the "pinch point" located at the middle of my upper lip.

I pinch it with all my strength, and eventually it will cause the cramp to subside. There's a nerve ending there that's connected to your body reflex for cramps. If the cramp is not subsiding, I pinch as hard as needed, sometimes hard enough to draw blood.

If anyone has similar remedies they've used or can post up more up about cramps and why we get them, from the internet, I would be grateful. Thanks.

[dogfish]

Here you go Dark.

http://speedendurance.com/2010/05/04...hile-sleeping/
Solutions and Preventative Remedies

1. Accupressure, Accupuncture and Reflexology deserves a separate series of articles. But the term “keep a stiff upper lip” has some merit here as pinching your upper lip while enduring leg cramps can help minimize the pain until the pain stops.
   
2. Dehydration or electrolyte imbalance could be a cause of cramps. See my previous article on Pedialyte. So make sure you are properly hydrated.

[buckethead]

I get terrible cramps if I don't get enough sleep. When you know the fish are biting it is hard to stop of natural drive of a being a fisherman. We push ourselves to the max. My remedy is to get more sleep. At least this way the cramps will not be less severe.

[DarkSkies]

Bump to the top for that whitewater freak Monty...and any others of ya's who push it till ya drop....


This pinching technique really works. I was fishing Jbay with a friend of mine last year and only slept 2 hours before launching....I ended up paddling to a shallow reedy area (there were no sedge islands in this spot) and walking chest deep in the reeds while pinching my lips. tied to my yak. If I didn't know this technique to get rid of those severe, muiltiple charley horses I got, I would have been in trouble...

[Monty]

Thanks Dark.
4-12 hours after my fishing trips my hammies, quads, calves and that front calf thing cramp up, at times like crazy.
Get like rocks, had a quad lock up last Sunday for 10 minutes that was unreal.
After I turned 50 last year it started to happen.....

[surfstix1963]

You need to eat more fruits and food high in potassium it is usually a deficency that causes cronic cramps most people do not eat nearly enough & drink more water all the walking causes you to sweat which naturally removes salts from the body your not dehydrating per say but losing salts and this causes cramps stay away from the potassium salts you can overdose on it but eating foods and fruits it is virtually impossible to OD and see if your cramps go away. BTW if you do get alot of cramps take a bottle of gatorade this will replace some of the salts and electrolytes. Caffeine and for the power drink guys redbull etc gets the adrenaline going faster and naturally speeds up your bodily functions walking faster sweating more quicker loss of fluids and cramps.

[finchaser]

In Darks case it couldn't have anything to do with sleeping in the front bucket seat of a small car ( The Stench Mobile) and breathing toxic fumes for days on end