7 Ways to Prevent Muscle Cramps

There's nothing worse than planning for an active day only to immediately be seized up with pain the second you're about to have at it. A muscle cramp. They can seemingly come out of nowhere, even if you aren't doing anything too straining for your body. It can affect trained athletes and casual laymen alike. Although the exact cause of muscle cramps can be unknown, the majority can be for a plethora of reasons.Sometimes it can come about simply because you exercised too hard and overused the muscle in question. If you're pregnant, it could be because of a mineral deficiency. The cramp may even be brought upon due to the temperature. If it's cold outside, or if you step into cold water, it can actually make your muscles tense up to the point of cramping. Obviously, if your body isn't circulating its blood flow efficiently, that can also be a cause for cramping. The same goes for a deficiency in certain minerals even if you are not pregnant. Because your body requires a great deal of water to perform everyday functions, if you're dehydrated, this may also cause a cramp. This is why you see athletes frequently pumping themselves full of water or other hydrating fluids. Finally, a few prescription medications can actually cause muscle cramps as a side effect.Because muscle cramps can occur for as short as a few seconds to as long as a few minutes or even an hour or so, it's important to know how to prevent them. For athletes, or those looking to exercise, you'll want to know how to prevent a muscle cramp, so you don't have to sit out of the game or activity. This article will discuss seven methods to prevent muscle cramps to keep you in the game.

1. Train Appropriately

For athletes or those looking to work out, you need to make sure that you're training appropriately. This means that you don't overexert yourself. How can you do this? The first step, for those looking to train for an event or sporting match, is to train for the event. Understand what is going to be required of your body and train yourself, so your muscles are prepared to deal with the strain. You also need to make sure that you ward off fatigue--especially muscle fatigue. Again, this has to do with your training. Understand your limits and listen to your body. It usually tells you when it's had enough. For the day before the big event or match, you should only train a small amount, so your body can have plenty of time to rest before it's called upon to work hard.Pacers are also an excellent method of not just measuring where you are on a fitness level compared to what the demands for the event or match are, but also an excellent method for building up your stamina. The following methods of prevention all attribute to this idea of training appropriately as well. You should incorporate them all.Next