Enjoy the gains of working out without the annoying muscle cramps and stop your wincing with these simple tricks from top physical therapist Bill Hartman.
Don’t Stretch
Weird right but cramps are caused by your muscles contracting uncontrollably, and your natural reaction when a cramps sets in is to try to stretch your way out of it.
Resist the urge to elongate the muscle, as stretching will only put your muscle through more strain, which could lead to more pain.
Related: This Is What Would Happen To Your Muscles If You Stretched For 10 Minutes Every Day
You should be… Flexing
Leverage an intelligent approach: reciprocal inhibition (RI) – the process of muscles on one side of a joint relaxing to accommodate contraction on the other side of that joint. RI is a nervous system phenomenon that you can activate yourself.
When you contract the muscle on one side of a joint hard enough, the opposing muscle, which is the cramping one, in this case will stop firing; which will ease the cramp.
Related: Here’s Why Your Leg Cramps While You Sleep, And How To Treat It
Look out for these most common cramps, so the next time you are struck with one, put RI into action with these moves.
Cramp: Bottom of your foot
Your move: Lift your toes toward your shin.
Cramp: Calf
Your move: Bend your ankle, bringing your foot toward your shin.
Related: The Upper-Body Stretch That Builds Bulletproof Muscle
Cramp: Hamstring
Your move: Sitting or standing, fully extending your lower leg.
