Muscle cramping happens when your muscles contract involuntarily. This causes your muscle to stay tense, which causes pain. Although you can experience muscle cramps anywhere on your body, they are most common in your legs and arms. You can prevent or treat muscle cramping due to sodium losses using several methods.
Cramping and Sweat
Several factors contribute to muscle cramping, but sodium depletion in the muscles can cause a specific type of cramping, usually due to excessive sweating. When you sweat, you lose water, sodium and potassium. These minerals serve as electrolytes in your body, which work to facilitate the electrical transmissions of your nerves and muscles. If you do not have enough sodium and potassium in your body, your nerves become hypersensitive, and muscle cramping can start.
Symptoms
Signs of sodium-related muscle cramping in the limbs typically begins as slight muscle twitches, said Dr. Michael Bergeron, director of the environmental physiology laboratory at the Medical College of Georgia in an interview with "The New York Times." You may note the muscle twitches in your limbs -- your legs are common spots -- for about 20 to 30 minutes. This can be an early symptom you are losing excess sodium. If you continue to lose sodium, your muscle cramps can become more pronounced. You may notice the cramps seem to move among your limbs, moving from one leg to the other and up to your arms. This can be a sign that your cells have lost sodium and potassium because cramping related to muscle strain tends to stay in one area.
Levels
The recommended maximum sodium intake is about 2,300 mg of sodium per day. Americans typically consume between 3,900 and 4,700 mg per day. If you are an endurance athlete, you may require more sodium in your daily diet to compensate for sodium losses from your athletic activities. While these is no definitive sodium recommendation for endurance athletes, you may wish to increase your sodium intake levels slightly above 2,300 mg of sodium to determine how salt affects you.
Treatment
If you experience sodium loss-related muscle cramping, take steps to restore sodium balance in your body. If you know you will be exercising vigorously, drink an electrolyte-containing beverage, like a sports drink, to help restore fluid and sodium losses before, during and after your exercise session. In addition to drinking an electrolyte beverage, stretch or massage your limbs, which can have a calming effect on muscles and nerves in your body. If you commonly experience sodium-related muscle cramping in your limbs, establish other sodium replacement methods, such as eating a salty snack before exercising or eating a sodium-containing gel during your exercise session.
References
- Gatorade Sports Science Institute; Muscle Cramps: Causes and Cures; Craig A. Horswill
- Human Kinetics; Learn the Connection Between Diet and Muscle Cramping; Enette Larson-Meyer
- PubMed Health: Hyponatremia
- MedlinePlus: Muscle Cramps
- "The New York Times"; A Long-Running Mystery, The Common Cramp; Gina Kolata; February 2008
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