Running is a fantastic way to get in shape, increase your muscle mass, and relieve stress. Whether you enjoy running outdoors, or indoors on your treadmill, that runner's high that you get can be very addicting.
However, sometimes when running, you may experience a cramp or spasm in your muscles. It can be very painful, and depending on how severe it is, even cause you to fall.
There are things that you can do to prevent this from happening, and ways that you can safely treat them. To know how to treat them, you need to understand exactly what is happening in your body.
Muscle cramp and spasms involve sudden, involuntary contraction and tightening of a muscle that will not immediately relax. It is painful, and sometimes lasts for minutes at a time.
Stretching safely before you run can help a great deal when it comes to prevention. After all, these occurrences can involve part or all of a muscle, or a number of muscles within a muscle group.
A spasm or cramp can occur in just about any given area. The most common muscle groups affected are the lower leg and calf, the upper leg including the hamstrings and quads, as well as the feet and hands.
The better you stretch these areas, the less likely you are to encounter pain while enjoying your jog. These tensions and pains can range in intensity from a slight twitch to a severe, agonizing contraction.
They can last anywhere from a few seconds to over fifteen minutes, and can usually be seen visibly by the way the muscle twitches and moves under the skin. If you are sick, overweight, or just very out of shape, you are probably at a greater risk of developing these painful contractions.
Those who take medication, or live or work in excessive heat and humidity are also prone to cramping. They are also common among endurance athletes, and people over sixty-five years of age.
If you fall into these categories, that does not mean that you have to give up running for exercising and pleasure. It just means that you need to go about preventing and treating them in different ways.
Make sure that you eliminate all of the controllable risks that could be contributing to the problem. This includes being inflexible, feeling fatigued, and being dehydrated from lack of water.
If you have electrolyte and mineral depletion in your body, you may also suffer these consequences.
A number of other factors include working or exercising in high heat and humidity, inadequate blood supply, injury or muscle strain, and excessive use of alcohol, drugs, and medication. Make sure that you take care of every issue that you can control, so that you do not have to limit your exercise.
If you are already on a run and this happens, there are a few different things that you can do to treat them. Make sure that you always have someone that you can contact, in case you simply cannot make it home again.
Immediately stop the activity that triggered the cramp in the first place. If you can, gently stretch the affected area, and try to seek a release.
Try to keep the affected areas moving with light activity, and gentle massage. If it is too painful, sit down and rest until someone can get you.
Continue to apply heat and massage to help promote blood flow. After it occurs, try to take it easy for the rest of the day, and continue to stretch the area when you can.
One of the most useful things you can do to prevent this problem from happening is to work on improving your general health and fitness. Improving your cardiovascular fitness will improve the delivery of blood to your muscles, which will ensure that they have adequate amounts of oxygen and nutrients to function properly.
You do not have to give up your love for running, or limit yourself to jogging right around the immediate neighborhood. If you are careful to prevent a problem from occurring and you treat it gently and carefully when it does, you can run without any problems at all.
Author Resource:-
Tommy Greene has worked and helped people in the health and fitness industry for more than 20 years and recommends the best sole treadmill reviews.
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