Leg/Foot cramps after riding

[Matt L]

hey guys i was just wondering if anyone has gotten cramps in their legs at all after freerding for about 4-8 hours? i recently went to a skate park where there are some decent places to ride in there and the night i got home my hamstring tensed up and it cramped real bad and hurt like a fuck and so did my calf muscle and my foot ....only my left leg though...anyone know why???? maybe not exercising ? if u know why i get cramps do u know anything i can do before i ride to avoid this? thx
-matt

 

[timmo]

My best tip for cramps is simply stretching - before, during and after exercise. If you start to feel one coming on, stop and stretch.

Also make sure you drink plenty of water and maybe sports drinks for the salts you sweat out?

You'll probably find that one foot is always back when jumping (aka the chocolate foot) so one will be cramped more. I dunno whether it'd be worse in the one doing more work (at the back), or the one that's less extended (at the front).

 

[naz]

meh have u not ridden in a while?
on my first night ride almost a year ago i nearly cried from a cramp, now i can ride 8 hours with out a worry, fuck stretchin its full of shit ive never stretched in my life. just drink heaps o sports drink n water. n after your ride make sure u have something nice and salty to replenish your sodium levels

 

[Matt L]

thanks ill keep that in mind...but yeah naz i got woken up by a cramp at 3 in the morning and it hurt so bad i almost yelled my head off lol sometimes i have to keep it stretched so it doesnt hurt for about 10 mins..then it goes away but ill keep that in mind...plently of sports drinks
thanks guys

 

[shift]

ive got a real anoying muscle in the bottom of my foot
not 100% sure if its from riding but ive been riding since i was bout 13 so it probably is.
if i walk around in bare feet, i quite frequenly pull a muscle in the bottom of my foot that goes from my heal to the end of my foot.
can get quite painfull because once it happens it gets worse with every step i take :/

thankfully its only in bare feet

 

[johnny]

ive got a real anoying muscle in the bottom of my foot
not 100% sure if its from riding but ive been riding since i was bout 13 so it probably is.
if i walk around in bare feet, i quite frequenly pull a muscle in the bottom of my foot that goes from my heal to the end of my foot.
can get quite painfull because once it happens it gets worse with every step i take :/

thankfully its only in bare feet

Mate I've never come across anyone else that experiences this!! :shock:

I too have had this same thing all my life, but since I've started riding 3 years ago, it actually stopped!! :?: I always thought that it was both the skin and muscle stretching but could never work out the cause. Funnily/strangely enough, I have never had a cramp before in my life. I understand that they are very painfull, but other than that I have no concept of what you guys go through. I have had both highly unhealthy and very healthy lifestyles, pack marches for 20kms in heat and then jump into icy water to do a stretcher carry. Out of 7 blokes I was the only one who didn't drop as soon as they hit the water. I don't know what I do that's so different, but I am naturally flexible (ladies..... :wink: ). Apparemtly sodium levels are critical to this subject, I'll ask some friends who are doing bio-mech and see what they can tell me.

 

[03choko03]

cramps aree usually associated with low magnesium levels, magnesium can be found in lots of green vegetables, or little pills from your health food store or chemist

 

[Butch]

cramps aree usually associated with low magnesium levels, magnesium can be found in lots of green vegetables, or little pills from your health food store or chemist

Exactly ur depriving ur body of salt , because u sweat it out , the tablets are magnesium tablets , i get cramps after playing league due to wat i take out , u gotta put in wat u put out , stretching does help , warming down is even better, u gotta have a holalistic approach on health look after ur body -grant

 

[One Kill]

cramps aree usually associated with low magnesium levels, magnesium can be found in lots of green vegetables, or little pills from your health food store or chemist

Exactly ur depriving ur body of salt , because u sweat it out , the tablets are magnesium tablets , i get cramps after playing league due to wat i take out , u gotta put in wat u put out , stretching does help , warming down is even better, u gotta have a holalistic approach on health look after ur body -grant

Holisitic? What do the spirtual, mental, social and physical aspects of health have to do with cramps? :lol:

My dad says that if you get salt, pour a bit into your hand, lick the salt up, then scull some coke, that gets rid of them :? so he says anywho. He does it and it works for him, so give that a try.

 

[roffle]

A cramp such as the one you have described is caused by a shortage of oxygen in the blood in the affected area. Over exertion of a particular muscle will cause it to use up more oxygen from the blood, causing a shortage of oxygen in the blood and damaging the muscle, hence the pain. One of the best cures for that cramp would be stretching the particular area, which causes more blood to flow to that area and more oxygen moves there with the blood.
I think anyway, although I'm not sure on this one..

 

[Matt L]

yeah i think i know what you mean...the onyl think i usually drink when i ride is water so ill buy some sports drinks....and yeah i have the same thing with my foot when im bare foot my left foor cramps real bad....like if i stretch it out like its poitning at something my middle toe gets pulled down and it hurts real bad

 

[MUGEN]

Stretches are a cramp's worst enemy. Make sure you warm up AND down before and after riding.
I used to get cramps all over my thighs after Capoeira, so I just stretch that particular muscle even tho it hurts a little. You'll feel way better after it!

 

[cheese]

Yeah, I know all about cramp pain, I used to get them early morning, It's the worst wake up call. I have no idea why I kept getting them, after I was getting them for a while I stretched and had a whole bunch of salt but that realy didnt do much for me. Now I hardly have any salt and don't stretch (except for soccer) and they are gone, ghost cramps...

 

[Kammy]

i know i get cramps after riding because i have oshgood schlatus which is from growing and that gives me cramps. think that everone has there own way of geting rid of cramps its just how you do it

 

[big_pete]

I got a massive cramp on friday night after riding for 4 hours or somethin maybe because i didnt stretch or because i havent been riding long distance laterly, but it bloody hurt it was a leg cramp i had to scream for my parents to come up and rub it because i was in so much pain

 

[lobasaurs]

cramps

try rasing you seat when your just riding form place to place then lower your seat when djing or freeriding also dont peddle up hill with your seat down

 

[timduncan]

I excperienced my 1st cramp the other day from riding to the shops =2km
i got of my bicycle and nearly fell over.... i felt it wen i lifted my foot over the seat resulting in a terrible pain HOLY crap it hurts :cry:

 

[Grip]

Okay... I am totally over hearing about everyone's freekin cramps! And by now MattL should know what to do with his so...