Medical Questions » Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments Questions » Question No. 1330
| Question: | I keep getting muscle cramps after exercise. Are there any natural remedies? |
| Answer: | First make sure you are warming up and cooling down properly before and after you exercise. Otherwise, you can help reduce cramping by addressing your body' s mineral balance. Crampsare popularly believed to be the result of a salt deficiency, but this is actually very rare. The spasms are actually caused by the inability of muscles to relax, and this is likely to be due to low magnesium and potassium - which work with the sodium in salt and another mineral, calcium, to control muscle contraction and relaxation. You need to eat a diet rich in foods that have a lot of magnesium, such as green vegetables, nuts and seeds. Most fruits and vegetablesare rich in potassium (bananas are a great source), so have at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. To absolutely ensure you' re getting enough magnesium, you may want to try taking a supplement - 300mg twice a day. |
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