Re: muscle cramping.

[Guest guest]

Hi Ralph,

Thanks for this very comprehensive post. I will have to plough through the

references.

In the article the thoughts that occurred to me around this comment.

" • EAMC is more likely to occur when intense prolonged exercise is performed

in a competitive environment under hot and humid environmental conditions "

If fatigue is a cause of the cramping then does the heat relate to the

bodies decision to shut its self down when the brain forecast that continued

exercise will send the body into hyperthermic state and slow donw the body.

Does this relate to or is this a symptom of the central governor theory that

Noakes and his colleagues at UCT are proposing?

" Passive stretching increases the tension in a muscle, thereby increasing

the Golgi tendon organ's inhibitory activity [24]. The effectiveness of

passive stretching in treating EAMC offers further support for the

hypothesis that abnormal spinal reflex activity is associated with EAMC

[17], rarer than a systemic disturbance, such as dehydration or electrolyte

depletion. "

Does the central governor loose control of the nerve impulse system. Is

this similar to marathon athletes barely able to walk home as they have no

co-ordination left?

" However, in addition to rest and passive stretching, the authors suggest

the administration of oral fluids (preferably containing carbohydrates with

or without electrolytes) and returning the athlete to a comfortable body

temperature (passive cooling in the case of hot, humid environmental

conditions; gradual heating in the case of hypothermia). "

It also interest me that by feeding the athletes carb laden drinks the

effected muscles would be re fed with glycogen and this along with the

cooling may have allowed the central governor to restart the muscles. There

was a reference posted here (this year?) about the performance of cyclist on

stationary bikes having a higher performance after washing their mouths out

with sugar water, not actually swallowing, which fooled the brain

into allowing extra effort due to the anticipation of additional food.

In the original post, the girl in question wore heals to school that day,

which may have pre fatigued the calves and the cramps are a result. What

was her nutritional status that day? Was her body low in carbs, which would

be a negative for fast twitch muscles which have limited mitochondria for

energy production and rely on stored glycogen or glycogen released from the

liver after processing lactates?

The author is quote strong on the fact that dehydration is not the cause, as

they don't believe that electrolyte status is the factor.

If electrolyte status does play a role then over hydration would reduce

electrolyte concentrations. In Newels account of cramping, eating

vegetarian foods typically high in water content and the couple of extra

glasses of wine in a well hydrated person may effect the electrolyte status

diluting these to cause cramps.

Again all these are thoughts that may contribute to the discussion, I am no

expert and comments are most welcome.

Regards

Nick Tatalias

Johannesburg

South Africa