Seeker911 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Ok so I am cruising through my usual Tuesday avie 2.4k swim I have about 400m to go and my left calf muscle goes in a severe cramp ending my swim very abruptly and leaving me hobbling off home. 1. Why the hell on earth would my calf muscles cramp while swimming, its not like its contributing in a major way ? 2. This morning the muscle is very stiff like its been pulled or something. What does one do in this case, rest up for a few days, medication, physio ? 3. Is there anything I might be missing from a diet perspective that would cause this ? Edited May 11, 2011 by Seeker911 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad890 Posted May 11, 2011 Share well in terms of camps in your calf while swimming anyone who has played water sports like waterpolo etc will tell you it does happen, i'm guessing it has to do with the resistance of the water against ones foot that acts as a flipper per say and one then tenses both the calf and muscles along the front of the leg to keep it fixed to give propulsion, basically the crap would have been brought on by lactic acid and muscle fatigue. in terms of the pain experienced the following day it is probably due to a light muscle injury (most times very minor) as a cramp is a sever contraction of the muscle similar to one trying to bench press or squat too much weight. personally what i find works well if i'm battling with camps is USN cramp blocker as it helps to neutralize the lactic acid build up and alleviate stiffness the following day due to the lactic acid build up. in your case id probably say take it easy on the leg for a day and then make sure you stretch it out nicely before you exercise again, and if the pain is really bad possibly go see a doctor or physio to make sure you havent torn/ stained something as it is possible if one experiences a very severe cramp. hope that helps and please do correct me if i am wrong as i'm sure someone will if i am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad890 Posted May 11, 2011 Share oh and also as a preventative measure for cramps make sure you take in lots of water as dehydration can also lead to cramping of muscles, even though it does seem unlikely while swimming in a body of water that one is losing water, one in essence still is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted May 11, 2011 Share I get this whenever I go bodyboarding, in the same place(always here, nowhere else) at the top of each calf. During the massive surf Durban recently had I almost drowned cause the cramp was so bad, the muscle felt bruised for 3/4 days. It seems to happen as soon as muscle fatigue starts to set in, then you suddenly tense up, and then the cramp takes over. I take salts, and cramp blocker before I bodyboard now. Ive asked this many times and no one can give me a decent answer too I would say rest up for a couple days. Edited May 11, 2011 by Caerus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messenger Posted May 11, 2011 Share Swimming is a funny little gremlin.Please consider that if your statement was accurate, Ryk Neetling would not have calves.....Swimming has caused cramps in places where i did not even know i had places - i would start considering diet and other potential deficiencies...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest agteros Posted May 11, 2011 Share Ok so I am cruising through my usual Tuesday avie 2.4k swim I have about 400m to go and my left calf muscle goes in a severe cramp ending my swim very abruptly and leaving me hobbling off home. 1. Why the hell on earth would my calf muscles cramp while swimming, its not like its contributing in a major way ? 2. This morning the muscle is very stiff like its been pulled or something. What does one do in this case, rest up for a few days, medication, physio ? 3. Is there anything I might be missing from a diet perspective that would cause this ? The physio (head of TSA medical commission) told me that as your calf muscles are contracted for lengthy periods of time, they do tend to cramp easily for new swimmer (coming from running/.cycling). The other thing that can cramp is your feet... Same prinicipal as barefoot running - feet used to be protected in shoes etc, now swimming they are not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTBer wannabee Posted May 11, 2011 Share I get this whenever I go bodyboarding, in the same place(always here, nowhere else) at the top of each calf. During the massive surf Durban recently had I almost drowned cause the cramp was so bad, the muscle felt bruised for 3/4 days. It seems to happen as soon as muscle fatigue starts to set in, then you suddenly tense up, and then the cramp takes over. I take salts, and cramp blocker before I bodyboard now. Ive asked this many times and no one can give me a decent answer too I would say rest up for a couple days. +1 It normally happens when i perform a 360 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted May 11, 2011 Share +1 It normally happens when i perform a 360 Thank god I'm not alone, yeah happens with 360's & airs. Drives me nuts. I was usggested Essential salts and try eat a banana before going. Strange as to why swimming and water sports does this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocknRolla Posted May 11, 2011 Share in general, taking a magnesium supplement (slow-mag etc) will prevent as well alleviate any cramping. it also helps to yell "arrrgghhh cramp....cramp......" :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted May 11, 2011 Share The physio (head of TSA medical commission) told me that as your calf muscles are contracted for lengthy periods of time, they do tend to cramp easily for new swimmer (coming from running/.cycling). The other thing that can cramp is your feet... Same prinicipal as barefoot running - feet used to be protected in shoes etc, now swimming they are not Did they mention swimming with flippers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest agteros Posted May 11, 2011 Share Did they mention swimming with flippers? nopes we did not go that deep into the whole thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted May 11, 2011 Share nopes we did not go that deep into the whole thing Doh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker911 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Thanks guys. Must admit this is only the 2nd time I have ever had a muscle cramp. Last time was about 15yrs ago doing a cycle race in PTA going up a hill, if I recall correctly my dismount was everything BUT graceful Now that I have had time to think about it - I have actually down scaled the amount of cycling I am doing and have increased my running mileage this because of winter. I also take a daily dose of AMINO STIMS but I have not been as diligent as normal. Another thing I have not been doing of late is stretching again laziness and weather etc. So I suppose a combination of things and timing could be contributing here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker911 Posted May 11, 2011 Share in general, taking a magnesium supplement (slow-mag etc) will prevent as well alleviate any cramping. it also helps to yell "arrrgghhh cramp....cramp......" :D my version of "arrrgghhh cramp....cramp......" had a few "f?sf?sf?s" in it between much swallowing of water and gasping for air. i noted earlier that the life guard on duty was not that good looking so I did'nt want to attract any attention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAD4 Posted May 12, 2011 Share IMHO generally cramping in cycling is from over exertion and muscle fatigue. To prevent it, I was told to train harder and longer, so as to simulate race conditions, as sometimes you go harder in a race than you are used to in training. If you are cycling less and swimming more, you might be fatiguing the muscles that are not used to being used, in other words over exertion causing muscle fatigue. Most so called cramp preventing products are snake oil. I remember reading an article a few years ago where Scientists had found no conclusive proof that anything other than muscle fatigue caused cramping, so energy drinks, tabs etc. Did not prevent it. Of course many people will tell you their recipe works i.e. Salt, Rennies, tissue salts Coke etc. But then again it was a few years ago and I am no Scientist. Perhaps there are new findings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_w_65 Posted May 12, 2011 Share well in terms of camps in your calf while swimming anyone who has played water sports like waterpolo etc will tell you it does happen, i'm guessing it has to do with the resistance of the water against ones foot that acts as a flipper per say and one then tenses both the calf and muscles along the front of the leg to keep it fixed to give propulsion, basically the crap would have been brought on by lactic acid and muscle fatigue. hope that helps and please do correct me if i am wrong as i'm sure someone will if i am. Please guys, no craping crapping in the pool Edited May 12, 2011 by chris_w_65 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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