Leg cramps are, unfortunately, a common occurrence for many runners, causing pain so strong and sudden it’ll take your breath away. So what causes them, and does the popular pickle juice remedy actually work to relieve them? Learn about exercise-associated muscle cramps and how to use pickle juice for cramps to stop the pain.
Leg cramps.
That sudden, painful, intense muscle contraction can catch you off-guard and leave you grabbing your leg and trying to breathe through the pain as others nearby try to figure out what has caused your agony.
It’s a misery that many runners deal with on a regular basis.
In fact, there was a span of a year where I woke up with calf cramps nearly EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT. It was horrible and more than a little terrifying.
I was not yet a running coach, this was long before we could Google everything…so I sucked it up for awhile and then saw a Dr who said “you’re fine”.
But it’s not fine and you shouldn’t be dealing with them. So let’s dig in to this fabled remedy juice and quick understanding of what causes us to get charlie horses or muscle cramps.
Common Causes of Muscle Cramps
Unfortunately, no one knows what causes them. Not really.
But there are currently two prominent theories.