Causes of PAINFUL leg cramps?

I remember that I used to always get crams in my hip abductors like when I'm straddling my board, and those would really hurt, and a few times I've had a calf cramp... not fun. But ever since I've started stretching, I've only gotten a cramp ONCE. This had been like 6 months. But you gotta make sure that you stretch right. The best time to stretch is AFTER doing an activity of any sort. Before you do the activity, you should actually warm up with jumping jacks, jogging, etc. And you have to be consistent with your stretching because when you stretch, you're actually telling your body that it can actually stretch a little farther than it's supposed to. If you stay consistent, your ligament will remember how far it can stretch (from stretching) and you'll be more flexible. There's always a limit, but everyone has a weak spot in their flexibility (me = legs). So at least three times a week is what I try to do stretching-wise.

Another factor could be coldness. Were you a little chilly in the water? It doesn't have to be much, but just a little and your body will come up with ways to make it warmer, most of the time its contracting muscles... and that makes them tighter.

 

i'm gonna go w/ terra firma here...stretching has a HUGE effect on how much range of motion you get out of your limbs & muscles.
also, if you were sweating while in the water, you might have become potassium deficient. eat a banana before paddling out. i personally have only gotten calf cramps when the water's been on the chilly side (below 50). i never get the things in the summer time.
it also could have been caused by fatigue...where you out for long time before the cramp occurred? the cramp might've been your leg's way of saying, "nope, i can't do it. too tired." once you let it rest for a bit, it was good to go for at least one more wave & got you out of the water.

my personal opinion of your pseudo-psychological explanation is, to put it mildly, that your theory is utter crap. it defies the logic imposed by the fight/flight response. in the situation you were in, you had only 1 option: to fight. flight was not available to you. your "fight" response when caught inside is to move out toward the threatening wave & hope to either get over it before it begins to break, or get under it & dodge the full power of the beast. this is why you see a lot of guys who are out in conditions beyond their skill sitting way, way outside. by sitting outside, they remove themselves from the danger of all but the biggest sets & also enable themselves to have to paddle less to avoid any sneaker sets that come thru. that your muscles would cramp up in an attempt to avoid confronting this beast of a wave would suggest that your sense of self-preservation is non-existent.

but seriously: stretch more & eat some bananas.

 

Stretching and hydrartion are good but potassium is best. Bananas are full of it. I usually eat one before a session. Now the only time my calf cramps up is if I've been out for 3+ hrs and my entire body is exhausted

 

1) Strengthen and stretch your muscles regularly
2) wear a wetsuit in cold water
3) keep hydrated


do all these and you should be able to avoid most cramps

 

stretching will def help, just stretch longer and look up some leg stretches.
I used to get cramps but then i realized that i was kicking by moving mainly my feet and that messed me up. Try to use more of your legs to kick, thats what i did and i havent cramped since.

 

Get some cramps in my calves once in awhile.Almost feels like the Gout.Sucks man especially when theres a nice set coming in.

 

Sometime if I dont strech enough before I paddle out my neck and my lower back will hurt after a cpl hours. Eating a Bannana is good before s session cause it give you a huge energy boot. Usually after a session I drink almost a whole gallon of water and I eat a couple blue berry muffins from Wawa. After that my batteries are recharged

 

Without a doubt. Leg cramps really kill your time out there and can basically cripple you. The pointing of your feet make them spasm so what i try to do is calf raises which push your toes up. Stand on a curb or ledge with your toes before you head out and raise your body up and down, really stretching your calves. thats about the best thing i can do and it seems to ease the pain but never rids me of them completely

 

rubbing your leg once it cramps helps circulate the blood its very good for you!

and Banananananananas

 

i would just say banannas. but when i work out and do lower body i always try to do some calf raises with how ever much i squat just to build the calfs. but banannas are always good for you. and dont forget after you have a bananna throw it on the ground so someone can slid on it.

 

You do realize that building muscle makes them TIGHTER, don't you? To be honest, I don't work out, and my calves are pretty buff from skateboarding, but you gotta stretch so there isn't an imbalance (think about the dude too buff to scratch his back).

 

You should be able to do wayyy more weight in calf raises than squatting.

Oh and put salt on everything. The salt helps you retain the water in your muscles.

 

yes you are able to do more claf raises than squats. but since i already have my max squat weight on and if i did a heavy lift then i dont wanna go over what i can squat.

 

this. yeah i dont really stretch and haven't had a cramp in 2 years because i started to pregame sessions with a gatorade and a quick snack. its all about deficiency out there, hydrate and supply yourself well beforehand (and afterwards )

 

bananas

bananas and water

 

Electrolytes Man

It has been said already, but here is another vote for electrolytes being low. I work with athletes working on their explosive power and to increase their vertical jump, and see calf and quad cramps a lot. Quick stretching usually will get rid of the immediate cramp, but the real underlying cause is the electrolyte concentration in the muscles. We will usually have them eat/drink a "salt" tablet like nuun or the camelback electrolyte tabs because it hits their blood stream quickly and they are usually good to go. If you have this happening frequently, eat something before you head out, even just a banana. Mg, K, Na are the big three. Good luck.

 

I agree with the electrolite idea. I drink alot of water with electrolites and oxygenation. 365, Essentia. Makes a real difference. I used to get cramps alot but now almost never. I also run a mile before cold water surfing and run a little before warm water surfing. Lately I've been drinking monster which has the muslce regenerative ingrediants. Any kind of drink with that will regenerate the muscles and get rid of lactic acid are good. Stretch during each break and walk or jog around or dance a little. Simple yoga stretches and breathing into the muscles will help not to mention lots of sleep at night.

 

Calf cramps suck. I used to get them almost every time I went out (sponge) and they were painful and potentially dangerous since you're losing your primary means of moving through the water. This trick has worked for me 100% so far: don't point your toes when you kick and let your ankles flop around freely. I read about it on a site for swimmers and nothing has worked so well for me. Most people tend to point their toes involuntarily because it seems like your fins will work better that way. It feels weird at first and took a considerable effort to retrain myself to unlock my ankle but like I said it has completely fixed the cramp issue.