Which Pill helps with Cramping?

[walkerr]

LMAO at some of the comments, the guy is finishing multi day events but he must train more. Obviously some did not read the article about cramps. The pills replace calcium, magnesium and other minerals that are key in the electrolyte the muscle needs to communicate with the brain.

Cramp block works u can try it.

I assume the other training tools are in place i.e. stretching, training at the right intensity… etc.

 

By your same logic - if he already knows enough to be doing all those things right, wouldn't he also know plenty about hydration and electrolyte levels?

 

You're making just as big assumption heading down that line of reasoning, as anyone heading down the training / rate of exertion line. Competing/completing at any level/duration doesn't by itself rule out any of the above, all of which can be causes of cramps.

 

Many people never experience cramps until one "trigger event" in which they occur - and after that they then occur regularly. That trigger can be exertion related, mineral balance related, even age related - guys especially start becoming more susceptible to cramps in middle age and above even if they never had them before.

[Li Mu Bai]

The only pill that works for cramps is the "train some more pill" by sufferhardex

[KaKa]

You a absolutely right, I and the rest are assuming “things” because none of us know him as observed from the comments. Yet we make suggestion about training and other comments that certain products don’t work and suggest he trains more.

He is asking which of the cramp block pills work and which do not or what other remedies we might suggest. So why not give feedback regarding the question asked. No one has asked the guy about his training regime to determine if the problem might be insufficient/ ineffective training.

I think we can be more helpful on the forum other than criticise and make irrelevant comments

"thanx I am feeling better now"

[walkerr]

You a absolutely right, I and the rest are assuming “things” because none of us know him as observed from the comments. Yet we make suggestion about training and other comments that certain products don’t work and suggest he trains more.

He is asking which of the cramp block pills work and which do not or what other remedies we might suggest. So why not give feedback regarding the question asked. No one has asked the guy about his training regime to determine if the problem might be insufficient/ ineffective training.

I think we can be more helpful on the forum other than criticise and make irrelevant comments

"thanx I am feeling better now"

 

 

Sorry ... I'll stick to the exact topic as quoted:

 

Which Pills help with Cramping?

 

Tried all of them. None of them helped me significantly, the root cause of my problems lay elsewhere.

['Dale]

The only pill that works for cramps is the "train some more pill" by sufferhardex

 

Hahaha!

[SwissVan]

I never take supplements like magnesium ....well i did once try slomag because it was the recommended thing to do for endurance athletes but stopped after someone from the SSI advised that it was a waste of time and anyway all it did was make my stomach work more often.... which is not really an issue when you train and eat a lot...

Nor salt... dont even add salt to my food, and yes i sweat a lot, sometime so much that i think there's something wrong with my thermostat...

 

Despite all of the above I've cramped once in my life during exercise, Sabi monster in 2001 or 2002....there was another time when i felt a few twinges that reminded me of the first cramp but not sure when or where....

 

I must be taking things way to easy

[Wayne Potgieter]

The only pill that works for cramps is the "train some more pill" by sufferhardex

 

Brilliant. HTFU

[DirtyFrank]

Farmers put out salt tablets in the field for their cattle.

 

Buy one of them, put it next to your bed (or couch) and give it a good lick everytime you go past it.......

 

 

Farmers put out salt tablets in the field for their cattle.

 

Buy one of them, put it next to your bed (or couch) and give it a good lick everytime you go past it.......

 

 

you`d be better off licking this! There is no pill for cramping.....train harder!

[Seeker911]

i get cramps when

 

1. dont take my vitamens, including magnesium, on a regular basis

2. have been slacking for a while and then overdo things

[grc]

_{Rehydrate - I am not sure if it makes a difference or just forces me to drink more, but I seldom cramp with it and generally cramp without it.}

[kandui]

Training: On average 15 hours per week. Have reduced that to around 8-12 per week now with 2 interval sessions per week for the last month. Average riding is done at close to 70% of Max Heart Rate for long durations. I think I may be riding too hard when I should be taking it really easy. Did over 1000km in January and include lots of climbing, living at the foot of Table Mountain. Perhaps my intensity over the weekend was too hard for my current level of fitness, but i do consider myself to be fit. Make your assumptions from there.

[Gambitdbn]

Answering the original question, there have been lots of trials on all sorts of supplements and drugs from Vit E to calcium channel blockers (often used for BP control) and the only proven benefit seems to be from Quinine. It apparently works by inhibiting the motor end plate (where the nerve contacts the muscle fibers) to a certain degree preventing tetany (spasm) of the muscle. I cramp quite regularly and am pretty certain it's due to not training properly and not that my electrolytes are depleted. I tried Quinine pills for the first time this last weekend, 300mg night before and 300mg morning of the race and no cramps. That said, you do need a prescription and there are reported side effects (although admittedly very rare).

[Rick]

To all who are suggesting more training and lower relative intensity, let me ask you this: Does it get easier or do you just go faster?

Come on chaps, you train harder so you can go faster, but whether you are an X seed or an elite you are still going to burn all your matches in a race. Unless you are so frikken awesome that you can just chill while the okes around you fall apart.

If anything I would say as your ability increases so does your relative race intensity.

 

So no, I think you will always stretch past what you can handle in a race, that's the point isn't it? And under these circumstances SOME PEOPLE cramp. Not all of us, just some. And it happens less in more trained riders for sure. Diet also, definitely a connection there. From my experience I can say one thing for damn sure. If it's hot I cramp more, end of story. I have read the Lore of Running and every other book under the sun and frankly I don't care what the exact physiological mechanism is.

I'm not saying this affects everyone, but it affects some people badly, irrespective of their condition.

 

You want a silver bullet? I find Crampblock works very well for me. And I'm not talking about taking it on some days and i didn't cramp, I'm talking about getting an inner thigh cramp that just about pulled me off my bike, I chewed 2 crampblock in desperation and it brought me back from the edge.

Maybe i'm a sucker and it's just a placebo, but i don't race without them.

I suggest you give those a bash.

[Scooter69]

When I was still Road Running I found that slow release magnesium tablets plus a reduction in training intensity seemed to help. (Increase training intensity gradually as the cramps reduce).

My 2c

[Gambitdbn]

A cohort study looking at risk factors for cramping in 210 triathletes:

 

RESULTS:

 

43 triathletes reported EAMC (cramping group) and were compared with the 166 who did not report EAMC (non-cramping group). There were no significant differences between groups in any pre-race-post-race serum electrolyte concentrations and body weight changes. The development of EAMC was associated with faster predicted race times and faster actual race times, despite similarly matched preparation and performance histories in subjects from both groups. A regression analysis identified faster overall race time (and cycling time) and a history of cramping (in the last 10 races) as the only two independent risk factors for EAMC.

CONCLUSION:

 

The results from this study add to the evidence thatdehydration and altered serum electrolyte balance are not causes for EAMC. Rather, endurance runnerscompeting at a fast pace, which suggests that they exercise at a high intensity, are at risk for EAMC.

[b-unit]

 

 

The name is Yunnan Baiyao. Used it at a running race when I cramped - all I could say was WOW! That stuff works. And it has the most interesting story behind it too... http://www.yunnan.co.za/cat2.php?catID=3

 

Snake oil

 

Gotta love the storie about the recipe.

 

 

Ingredients

 

Yunnan Baiyao is a totally natural product, being produced from a wide combination of herbs, long known for their healing powers, endemic to the Yunnan Province of South Western China. Although its main are Sanqi (roots of panax Notogensing) and Rhizoma Dioscoreae, its formula is a closely guarded secret. The separate herbal are made up by thirteen separate teams, none of whom have any knowledge of the the other teams are mixing. The individual mixed components are then combined by a further team, who have no knowledge of what constitutes them. Only this team knows the proportions in which they are combined. The formula is so closely guarded that only one copy of it exists – locked for safety and security in the safe of the General commanding the Chinese armed forces!