Leg Cramp Advice?

[Ana]

Frog kick. Make sure you’re well hydrated. And makes sure to do stretches on a regular basis. These are what helped me.

That was my solution. I was getting bad leg cramps not just diving; in the middle of the night or just sitting watching TV.

Once I started walking and doing stretches regularly voliá... No more.

 

[lexvil]

OK, it sounded like you meant "back kick".

Well that may help too.

 

[SlugLife]

Train. 5 minutes of calf work on the steps every other day for two weeks will help a lot. Also, get in the pool with your fins and kick for a 10 minute session a couple times a week. A gentle stretch before diving may help. Also keeping you legs warm may help. Working muscles that are cool, can more readily induce cramps.

Swim with fins as much as possible, no land exercise targets the dive muscles as effectively. You can back swim using a combination of flutter and frog.

hydration is as or more important as any supplement’s if you dive dry get and use a pee valve, if you dive wet get ready to spend a little extra time rinsing your suit.

I'm somewhat middle-of-nowhere at the moment. 1-hr (each way) to the nearest scuba-shop, and 30 minutes to the nearest swimable-lake. (I may have to relocate) I might be able to work in a 2x per week routine, 1 day swim, 1 day scuba. (and buy a few more scuba-tanks)

I drink a lot of water, but as someone mentioned below ... coffee might be an issue.

I agree. I would loan you a pair but I'm an XXL. What size boot do you wear?

10.5 shoe size, size-large fins usually.

Just going and down a staircase or do you mean something else?

Front of 1 foot on toe-ledge, other foot suspended. Ankle as far down as possible, then as far up, and repeat. When tired, or after a number of reps, switch foot/leg.

My tip...
I never drink coffee in the morning before a dive. Never. If I do, 30-50% time I get a cramp. In the foot too, not the calf. Harder to get out, the foot cramps. I've had my fin off once or twice, it was that bad.
To be fair, I drink very strong coffee or espresso only, but still. It's a diuretic etc.

Interesting. I do drink a LOT of coffee (and water), so it might be worth trying skipping it on scuba-days, and seeing if it improves.

 

[lexvil]

I drink a lot of coffee even on dive days, so long as you aren’t flushing to many minerals (probably aren’t with the supplement) coffee is not much of an issue, if any. Keeping you legs strong, the right fins/boots make a big difference. Some foods can have an effect too, I won’t eat asparagus for two days before diving, I love it in season but for me it contributes to leg cramps.

 

[johndiver999]

I do calf raises with both feet for the most part. 100 reps takes a minute or less and kicks my butt. 3 sets in 5 minutes and you will probably be sore afterward. I would concentrate on stretching and strengthening the muscle group which is giving you problems before diet and supplements.

 

[Marie13]

I’ll even bend over and touch my toes while at the copier with big files to be scanned. The rest of the office thinks I’m bats anyway, but this gets me some good stretches during the day.

 

[johndiver999]

Take the steps at work and sneak in some calf raises, when nobody is looking

 

[Bob Evans]

I had the same problem. Switched to Force Fins and I have never had a cramp since then. No electrolytes, potassium or magic potions. Either buy a new pair or look on Flea Bay. Ask @Bob Evans to explain why.

Thank you, Tridacna, found this quick answer on our Web site. I like to add more to our Force Fin site here on SB, But for now. The Foot Tells All - Force Fin

 

[PirateFoxy]

Take the steps at work and sneak in some calf raises, when nobody is looking

I do some every day while I’m brushing my teeth because I need to do them for an Achilles’ tendon issue and it’s time when I’m otherwise just standing around not doing anything. (I have one of those fancy toothbrushes that times everything so I just do them alternating legs until the toothbrush stops. Some days I do faster than others, just depends what I feel like.)

I do also make a point of doing some stretches every day on the stairs, also, as you don’t want everything to get too tight - ball of your foot on the edge of a step securely, drop your heel down until you get a comfortable stretch. Just make sure you won’t fall down the stairs if your foot slips. There’s also a rocker gizmo you can get for like $20 that helps do much the same thing, without the falling down the stairs risk.

My personal experience with supplements (just in the context of general exercise, not diving specifically) is it seems to partly depend how much of a sweater you are - the more you sweat the more electrolytes you might be sweating out, and some people do just sweat more/faster than others. So that’s something to keep in mind. That said, a single banana has a pretty decent chunk of the potassium you need daily, so unless you’re losing a lot (like vomiting/GI issues a lot) if you eat some fruits/vegetables every day, an actual potassium supplement may not be necessary. (Some medications do lower your potassium levels, though, so look into that also if you’re on regular meds.)

Also regarding GI issues - some caution is advised with magnesium supplements as they can cause diarrhea in some people/at some doses/in some forms. So definitely not something to try out the first time when you’re about to spend several hours away from a convenient restroom. My mom had to take magnesium supplements and her doctor advised starting with a lower dose (like 1 tablet instead of 2, for example) to see how you tolerated it instead of jumping right to the full dose. I imagine you could probably split it up, too - one tablet in the morning, one at night, maybe - if 2 at a time didn’t agree with you?

Final note: if you do take any medications normally, it’s a good idea to check with your doctor or at least a pharmacist before starting supplements as some things do interact in ways that need to be taken into consideration. (I vaguely remember timing being an issue for my mom, maybe with her thyroid meds and the magnesium?)

 

[Altamira]

And when all of the above don't work for you, switch to high quality split fins such as Apollo Bios or Atomic Smoke on the Water or Atomic Splits. You will be done with cramping, and you are not going to die! Well, you are going to die at some point, but not from the fins.