The Pathophysiology and Care of Exercise Related Muscle Cramps

Abstract

Cramps are major concerns to competing athletes occurring during or after exercise, are common yet, poorly understood phenomena. Pain alone is not object of treatment as serious musculophysiologic and metabolic disturbance of fluid and electrolyte deserve correction. Acute muscle pain and stiffness may cause soreness for longer time. Based on observations, two etiological theories are construed, i.e. the muscle fatigue theory and sodium-water deficit theory. Either has supporting and contradicting facts, but these are relevant to guide prevention and management interventions. Cramps may be different in kind based on different local and/or general causes. Occurrence of cramps in varied situations, environmental conditions and populations, suggests of pleural causal determinents. These include neuromuscular and fluid-electrolyte disturbance factors directly responsible under specific circumstances of individual sports person. Degree of conditioning to particular kind of physical exertion appears most significant factor. Prevention exercises target theorised physiology of muscle tendon and golgi organ receptors, toward delaying fatigability and cramp risk. Occurrence of cramps mostly in hot environments emphasizes support to dehydration-electrolyte imbalance theory. Maintenance of hydration and adequate electrolyte levels in cramp-prone individuals thus makes sense. Worth of variety of measures empirically employed for cramp relief can be judged by scientific understanding. Drugs found useful may not be the best match to pathophysiologic proprieties and thus irrational. The pathophysiological details and relevant clinical information is presented and discussed as first hand understanding for the sports persons and their care givers.

Keywords

• exercise cramps
• heat exhaustion
• muscle fatigue
• sports medicine
• sweat loss