everytime i play in tournaments, i my right calf(sp?) always get cramped Although i stretch before i play, it still happened everytime...what can i do to avoid from happening again?
It's better if u would check up with a professional doctor or asked others of how they strech their calfs..mind if u tell us how u do it?
well, I had a small lesson about cramps and calves yesterday (at badminton practise) and he said cramp is just lactic acid ('milk acid' in my native tongue) heaping up in your muscles. a massage would be nice, and really helped me there...we did calf drills all night, and I'm not sore now (except my shoulder...)
try to strech longer like from 10s to 15s but don't overdo and if it cramp,massage over the area will work
Many doctors say magnesium helps for cramps, and I've noticed it prevents them on me well too. So drink some mineral water or take a magnesium pill.
My first impression when I saw the title of this thread: Don't play badminton! I suppose in any sport we're bound to experience cramps one time or other. So.. if we try our best to prevent cramps and it still comes.. Well, I usually can tell when I'm gonna get my calf(usually right) cramp. I get the funny tight feeling while playing. So usually I stretch it.. best way I've found so far is to stand up straight, put out your going-to-get-cramped foot and point it upwards. You can feel it being 'pulled' then, and the feeling usually goes away. Massaging works too. Of course, it's nicer when you can get a fellow player to massage it for you.. you get to relax. I hate cramps. One time I was on court, and suddenly my right calf cramped.. of course my first reaction was to sit down and hug my precious leg! But my coach wouldn't allow me to sit down, instead he told me to go against the wall and showed me how to stretch it. Don't know how to describe the position he showed me.. When I was in agony, mind you. I was practically hopping towards to wall clutching my calf.. actually I'll never understand why he didn't just stretch my leg for me(you know, get me to sit down, straighten my leg and push back the toes/feet). I took it that he was preparing me for tournaments in the future.. when I wouldn't have him around to get rid of my cramps, where I have to depend on myself to get rid of it. Lol! So.. just make sure you stretch really properly, especially your calves. If it happens during training it's one thing.. if during tournaments like Djiban.. well, it affects your game. A lot. Conclusion: I hate cramps.
Here is something that might help you.. http://www.calfroller.com/ You could probably build one yourself instead of spending that kind of money...
I thought cramps were caused by the lack of electrolytes in the body - usually due to heavy exercise. Maybe you should look into what they said earlier: see a doctor, ask for advice, eat a banana (has potassium, tasty, has energy too), drink water to prevent dehydration, magnesium pills -- and probably look at electrolyte-replacing sports drinks (Gatorade?) or make one of your own. This link: http://www.drugstore.com/qxa1863_33...s_leg_cramps_and_what_can_i_do_about_them.htm says that intake of potassium, calcium, and Vitamin E may help prevent cramps. ...it also said that cramps may happen for no apparent reason. Nervous system disorder?
Cramps happen because of lactic acid buildup. When your body runs out of oxygen, it switches from aerobic respiration (with oxygen) to anaerobic respiration, with lactic acid as a by-product. A little lactic acid is normal, but lots of it building up will cause your muscle cells to lose control of its function. For immediate relief, stop your activity, start massaging your calves, and take deep breaths to get as much oxygen as possible back into your system. To prevent them in the future, I would do some research on a multivitamin, not just focusing on specific vitamins. You should already be taking one anyway. When you're shopping for one, make sure your multivitamin has enough Magnesium and Calcium, as many multivitamins actually skimp on those two. Also try to hydrate yourself 0.5 to 1 hour before you actually play as this helps a lot too.
Lots of bananas and water! careful, don't get a water belly though and you also might wanna strengthen your legs! it helps A LOT!
Stupid freaking Cramps! I know that this thread is quite old but I'm sure that its just as relevant now! I just need an avenue to voice my sheer frustration I guess! So here goes, I am a doubles player and haven't really played any singles tournament for the past year and a half. Recently, I did play a few games of singles here and there and lost resoundingly almost always to even players who aren't better than me on an overall skill level. I put it down to poor foot movement which was quite a debilitating factor in the singles. I tried working on it by watching a lot of videos and understanding the basics of court movement for singles. Yesterday I played in the University Singles Championship. I had once had the problem of cramping in a game before (last time I played a singles game 6 months back) and this time I wanted to be sure that it wont be repeated! I thought that I did everything right this time round. I had enough water with me which I kept drinking throughout the match (1.5 liters). I also had a sports drink (similar to Gatorade) which I mixed 50% water as advised in this forum. So that was 1 liter. I also had a Banana as well as 2 bars of Snickers between the games. The first match was a two setter with both sets going on to 20 all. Second game was played after a break of around 15-20 min. This game was a three setter with all the sets going until 19 all. After another break of probably around 10-15 min, I played my third match and at 10-10 first set, I had a severe cramp on my left thigh. What was surprising was that it wasn't the hamstring but the front thigh or Quadriceps which was cramping. As I fell down writhing in pain, my right leg started cramping as well in the same location, the front thigh! By now I was rolling on the floor with pain and with great difficulty, my friends helped me get up and made me sit on the bench and were trying to stretch my legs. By now it was clear to me that I can't carry on anymore and was extremely disappointed that I had to call it a day! F***! The one day when I was playing confidently and winning, this happens... What baffles me is that I had done most of the basics right. I drank properly, ate in intervals, did my stretching exercises properly before the start of the game. What am I missing here?? Did I overdo it?? Why is it only in singles that I am suffering? I do play a lot of doubles (3-4 times a week) and almost all of them are high intensity games against good opponents. I usually play with the front back combination with me at the back covering the entire court behind, jumping and smashing at every opportunity! It is extremely tiring (even more than the singles actually) and energy sapping. Yet I have never had any problems with cramps. Why is it that I am having so much problems with the singles? Was it the time between the games? Should I have kept stretching in between games as well? Is a banana enough for the potassium intake? Should I have taken Potassium supplements as well?? Aaarrrghhhh.... So many questions!!! Sorry bout my mindless ranting there! Its ok if no one replies to this... I just needed to get it all out of my system! Really hope though, that someone can help me out of this and help me ensure that it doesn't happen again!
I do not know what is the cause of your specific problem, but it is not that you are lacking potassium. The whole electrolyte replacement thing is somewhat over-emphasized in amateur sports by companies trying to sell stuff. Sure, in an endurance competition or in a very hot environment, you need to keep up your fluids and salts. But if you have healthy kidneys, haven't had days of diarrhea and are generally eating properly, there is no way that your cramps would have been helped by more bananas and gatorade. My advice is to get assessed by an experienced trainer/phyiso who can lay hands on you. You are obviously very fit. But perhaps you have some areas of inflexibility or muscle imbalance that led to the cramps. It's impossible to judge in cyberspace. And if these cramps are getting more frequent or generalized, definitely see a doctor to rule out anything else. Good luck.
As someone said above, essentially cramps are due to a build up of lactic acid (combined with a number of other things). A few things can help reduce the onset of cramps. - Fitness - Generally, the fitter you are, the less lactic acid will build up/or you are more tolerant of it because your muscles are not "overworked" as such. - Keep Warm - Keeping the muscles warm, especially when resting will help reduce the chance of it happening. Make sure you warm up before playing and maintaining that warmth in the muscles. - Hydrate/Minerals - Always keep topped up with water and minerals. - Stretching - I personally don't find this helps that much with preventing cramps, but it certainly helps with preventing sprains/strains/muscle tears. If you get a cramp, stop, don't carry on playing. It will only make it worse. Stretch and massage the area, I find applying a muscle rub like YokoYoko helps. Again, keep hydrated (e.g. electrolyte drink) and some say eating a banana helps to top up your mineral levels. Also another tip I picked up a long time ago was to wear compression clothing, e.g. compression shorts, trousers etc.
uselessmail: were you pushing yourself too hard while you played? it might just be you worked too hard and your body wasn't used to it (happens to me sometimes). singles normally does make you move more than doubles, though you might feel more tired in doubles since you hit everything harder in doubles. i don't know what causes cramps, but it seems unlikely that your food was not enough.
Well ya I guess I was pushing hard. Whether it was too much, I honestly do not know. I do know though that I wasn't sweating as much as I usually do after a 3 setter in doubles. I was feeling good about myself and the mistakes I made weren't due to fatigue but just some careless shots here n there. Overall I was having a good day, you know some days when you just feel good about playing and everything clicks and then other days when just nothing works out and you lose everything... well I sure was having one of the former! I reason I guess may have been the food I had eaten before playing. The game started at 5.30 in the evening. I was busy in the lab in the morning and could only go to the cafeteria by around 2.30pm. There was nothing much left so I had a bowl full of Salad. All different kinds of leafy veggies along with one boiled egg. I was feeling full and satisfied actually. I wasn't feeling hungry either when I started playing, so I know that it wasn't the amount of food that was the problem. Could it have been that the amount of Carbs were lacking? I did eat 2 bars of Snickers in between the games but it probably wasn't enough! Ah well!!! I have been doing a lot of soul searching since yesterday. It pains me more thinking that I had 'prepared' for this eventuality and it still happened, with even more severity! I'll just have to accept it and move on I guess... Thank you guys for the support and advice!
Drink chocolate milk. It's the ultimate recovery drink. There are so many articles about this. Here's an example of the research . I guess you can drink before and after.
