# Hamstring cramps while sleeping



## client_9 (Apr 28, 2009)

Looking for a way to prevent brutally painful hamstring cramps while I'm sleeping.
It's not dehydration.
I drink electrolytes before and after the ride. 
I've tried magnesium supplements. 
I eat pretty healthy... spinach, clean protein, etc.

Please tell me if you have a solution


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## spaightlabs (Dec 3, 2011)

Warm up before riding, stretch after.
stretch on days off of riding
If you pilot a desk for a living, stand or move for 5 to 10 minutes every hour.
Get a massage gun and use it. 
Lift or use resistance bands to correct muscle imbalances.

how much water are You drinking a day?
How many mg of electrolytes and what electrolytes are you using?


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## client_9 (Apr 28, 2009)

Yeah, I got to try the stretching more.

Standing isn't the problem.
I stand all day at my job.
Maybe I need to sit down once in a while 

Thank you


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## TCSglTrk (9 mo ago)

Try one of the magnesium "fizz" powder brands before bed. You will sleep better and relax your muscles. Works great for me.


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## MaX-D (May 13, 2020)

More potassium. Muscle cramps are usually caused by low potassium. 

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk


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## Scott2MTB (Feb 2, 2015)

MaX-D said:


> More potassium. Muscle cramps are usually caused by low potassium.


Or dehydrattion. OP said he's drinking electrolytes before and after a ride but that doesn't actually say anything about total hydration. I found during my triathlon days that drinking too much electrolytes has the opposite effect you'd think. When you're dehydrated, your water to sodium balance is off because you're low on water. Adding electrolytes (mostly sodium) back in when you're dehydrated can really throw off the balance because it further reduces the ratio of water to sodium in your blood. But even if you're well hydrated, drinking too much electrolytes can basically mimic the effects of dehydration. 

Short version, assuming you're properly hydrated throughout the rest of the day, I would just drink water after the ride - not electrolytes. You've sweat out a lot of the water (assuming you're riding that hard) and you need water to restore the balance in your blood, not add more sodium.


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Cramps are commonly caused by riding above your fitness level.


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## mdavenpo2000 (Jan 6, 2007)

client_9 said:


> Looking for a way to prevent brutally painful hamstring cramps while I'm sleeping.
> It's not dehydration.
> I drink electrolytes before and after the ride.
> I've tried magnesium supplements.
> ...


Get a foam roller, or better yet a vibrating foam roller. Start on your gluteus Maximus then hit the hamstrings then calves. 

If you haven’t used a roller before watch some YouTube videos on rolling the glutes/hammies.


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## minimusprime (May 26, 2009)

Do you take proton pump inhibitors (PPI) regularly or at all?


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## Rod (Oct 17, 2007)

J.B. Weld said:


> Cramps are commonly caused by riding above your fitness level.


This, especially that late into the day. A banana would immediately help with those cramps, a foam roller is amazing, and try to stretch it out after a ride. Your body will compensate if you keep riding that hard.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

minimusprime said:


> Do you take proton pump inhibitors (PPI) regularly or at all?


True. I do and they can reduce your absorption of some minerals. I supplement magnesium.
Also, I drink low sodium V8. A 12 oz can of it has the potassium (you need about 4 grams a day) of about 3 bananas and helps hydrate.
Because it's a liquid, the potassium gets into your bloodstream much faster.
I'm 69 and many of my rides in the summer are hot/dry Utah rides with 3000 feet of climbing. I don't cramp up.

Edit: not all magnesium supplements are equal. You can research and come to your own conclusions.


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## shooop (Dec 4, 2021)

Try a TENs machine


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## Jolyzara (Jan 11, 2022)

Eat a banana


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

J.B. Weld said:


> Cramps are commonly caused by riding above your fitness level.


 Yup; more riding and conditioning is needed.


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## Scott O (Aug 5, 2004)

Someone just told me that mustard helps. Not sure if you're supposed to eat it or have someone rub it all over you as the cramps hit. Could mess your sheets up though. Give it a whirl and let us know how it works.


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## JKA (Jul 26, 2006)

MSU Alum said:


> True. I do and they can reduce your absorption of some minerals. I supplement magnesium.
> Also, I drink low sodium V8. A 12 oz can of it has the potassium (you need about 4 grams a day) of about 3 bananas and helps hydrate.
> Because it's a liquid, the potassium gets into your bloodstream much faster.
> I'm 69 and many of my rides in the summer are hot/dry Utah rides with 3000 feet of climbing. I don't cramp up.
> ...


MSU, I like the V8 idea. I need to add more mag. What mag supplements have you found to work well for you?


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

JKA said:


> MSU, I like the V8 idea. I need to add more mag. What mag supplements have you found to work well for you?


I use Doctor's Best brand High Absorption Chelated Magnesium. It's not a bad idea to research, though, as I may not have found the best. It's good for me. Most of the magnesium I've taken that's not chelated acts as a laxative for me. I think it doesn't get absorbed, stays in the intestine and just draws water from my body into the intestine osmotically. This doesn't seem to do that.


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

cold, not hot shower after riding. pushes the bad juice out of the legs and circulates it out faster
[hot or warm shower just keeps it packed in and much slower to dissipate]

and magnesium as you do and everyone sez to do


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## Gary in VA (May 4, 2004)

My sister and I suffer from bad nightly leg/foot cramps. Read a medical article a while back saying they found that vitamin C before bed helped. I drink a Energen-C drink every night and have eliminated 99% of my cramps.


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## minimusprime (May 26, 2009)

I agree that the magnisum supplement is good advice and has worked well for me. One more item to evaluate, is if you are a salty sweater. I am enough of a salty sweater that I can end up with salt rings on my jersey and camelbak at the end of very long/hard days in the saddle. I worked with precisionhydration.com to get a better understanding of what my intake of sodium, potassium etc had to be to keep the cramps in check. For what it's worth, my requirements are so high, that there is no way I could accomplish that through intaking solid foods... supplementing is the only way that I could truly keep it in check for 5+ hour efforts.


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)

minimusprime said:


> I agree that the magnisum supplement is good advice and has worked well for me. One more item to evaluate, is if you are a salty sweater. I am enough of a salty sweater that I can end up with salt rings on my jersey and camelbak at the end of very long/hard days in the saddle. I worked with precisionhydration.com to get a better understanding of what my intake of sodium, potassium etc had to be to keep the cramps in check. For what it's worth, my requirements are so high, that there is no way I could accomplish that through intaking solid foods... supplementing is the only way that I could truly keep it in check for 5+ hour efforts.


Yea, I'm a human salt-lick. Same for me as well. I have to double up and do endrolytes often in conjunction with electrolyte replacement drinks.


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## jimPacNW (Feb 26, 2013)

I've been told that pickle juice is almost magical for some to end cramps, canniboids too (maybe try hemp seeds??, which are good for protein as well). B vitamins from Nutritional Yeast might be worth a try too, if nothing else helps.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

jimPacNW said:


> I've been told that pickle juice is almost magical for some to end cramps, canniboids too (maybe try hemp seeds??, which are good for protein as well). B vitamins from Nutritional Yeast might be worth a try too, if nothing else helps.


Yeah, I've heard that about pickle juice as well. Very salty, so maybe that's it.


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## netaron (12 mo ago)

One other item is if you drink, give it up for at least 2 days before your ride and a day or so after, then report back.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

netaron said:


> One other item is if you drink, give it up for at least 2 days before your ride and the a day or so after, then report back.


What? Three days without booze? That would give me cramps.
But you're right, booze and if you can, coffee as well.


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## telemike (Jun 20, 2011)

client_9 said:


> Looking for a way to prevent brutally painful hamstring cramps while I'm sleeping.
> It's not dehydration.
> I drink electrolytes before and after the ride.
> I've tried magnesium supplements.
> ...


Cramps can also be caused by or worsened by a peripheral neuropathy. If you have some numbness in your toes or feet, you could have a condition that is causing neuropathy. I hope not - don't ask me how I know.


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## celswick (Mar 5, 2020)

I've had this same issue twice. I'd been riding a couple of hours a day for several months, then the cramps started coming. I tried everything--bananas, stretching, electrolytes, massage, etc, and they would still cramp up at night. 

Then I checked my seatpost and realized my post had dropped down a noticeable amount. I raised the saddle back to its normal height, took it easy for a few days, and now I'm back to riding 2-3 hours and no nighttime cramps.


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## BaconBikeJoe (Nov 22, 2010)

Lots of good advise here.. also mustard. Here's my quick story and advise. I've got nerve damage to my lower extremities... mostly on the right side where my pelvis was shattered (I've also got a couple spinal fusions that aren't helping). Because of this nerve damage, my muscles sometimes think I'm asking them to do stuff I'm not... like fully cramp up while I'm sleeping. Here's what helped me...
1. staying hydrated before bed. Managing how much you can drink and when without having to get up in the night to pee is your own journey.
2. stretching. for you, a good hamstring stretch looks like this... put your right leg up on your bed, flex your toes up, bend your knee and lean in, then slowly push your knee down. You can play with your hip positions to get the stretch where you feel it. Do this a fair amount. You can also keep your knee straight, lean in a bit, and just do flexes at your ankle. I do these every night while flossing and brushing my teeth.

I have a couple other stretches I do, but I don't think they're as relevant to you. Oh, sometimes I take one of those massage ball things and work on my butt muscles while laying on my side in bed. Your leg tendons all run up through there on their way to your pelvis, which I exploded, so massaging that **** helps me.

good luck!


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## Pwave (Nov 18, 2018)

Statins (cholesterol reducing meds) can cause cramping. Talk to your doctor if you are taking statins and ask if he will let you try another that might not be so cramp-causing.


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## Bikeworks (Sep 10, 2020)

client_9 said:


> Yeah, I got to try the stretching more.
> 
> Standing isn't the problem.
> *I stand all day at my job.
> ...


It's this. I'm a RN, took to standing all the time during Covid (I was CONSTANTLY running around, seemed more efficient to stand). The last 6 months or so I started noticing that my hammies were always tight. The last couple of weeks I've taken to intermittently sitting while documenting, and my tightness is gone. Give it a shot.


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## billb0872 (Sep 6, 2007)

Potassium high salts should do the trick. Typical table salt has potassium, don’t shy away from the salt if your doing a lot of riding


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## kustomz (Jan 6, 2004)

I have drank a Nuun tablet in Ozarka bottled water almost everyday of my life for the last nine years. Previous to this, I got cramps all the time and never get them now. Some will complain about price and the waste of the plastic bottles. Yep and there are a lot worse things I could do.


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## NoCanSurf (Feb 19, 2021)

Jolyzara said:


> Eat a banana


I had the same leg cramps in the morning. No fun waking up in pain. Somewhere I ran into the idea of adding half a banana to the protein shake I use to have for breakfast. It solved cramps in short order. I’m not a big breakfast eater, but I know I fade before lunch if I don’t have something in the mornings so I ended up drinking a protein shake, with 2 table spoons of coconut oil in them. It did the trick for me.

but for your cramp try a banana, really.


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## Amt0571 (May 22, 2014)

This happens to me when I do rides that I'm not properly prepared for.

It's really fun waking up at 4am screaming and jumping like mad. My wife loves it too.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

A lot of the research on cramping (as it effects cyclists) is all over the place in terms of causes and treatment. I know yours happens at night, but this article is worth a look:









Muscle cramps from cycling: Why do they happen and how can you prevent them? - CyclingTips


Muscle cramps can be a debilitating and extremely unpleasant part of bike riding. So what causes them? And what can you do to prevent them from occurring? Before we answer those questions, have you seen the film Pineapple Express? Stay with me here. There’s a scene where one of the main...




cyclingtips.com


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## J.B. Weld (Aug 13, 2012)

Ok I think I've got it.

Warm up, stretch, don't stand still, don't stand so much, use massage gun, lift weights, use resistance bands, drink more water, drink more electrolytes, drink less electrolytes, take magnesium, take potassium, use vibrating foam roller, don't take PPI's, eat bananas, buy a TEN's machine,eat mustard, drink V8 juice, take cold showers, consume salt, drink pickle juice, don't drink alcohol, don't drink coffee, raise your seat.

That about cover it?


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## striker64 (Aug 16, 2016)

What helps me is stretching the calf muscles before bed. Stand about a foot from a wall, hands against the wall, feet flat. Lean forward while keeping feet flat, repeat 10 times.


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## JKA (Jul 26, 2006)

J.B. Weld said:


> Ok I think I've got it.
> 
> Warm up, stretch, don't stand still, don't stand so much, use massage gun, lift weights, use resistance bands, drink more water, drink more electrolytes, drink less electrolytes, take magnesium, take potassium, use vibrating foam roller, don't take PPI's, eat bananas, buy a TEN's machine,eat mustard, drink V8 juice, take cold showers, consume salt, drink pickle juice, don't drink alcohol, don't drink coffee, raise your seat.
> 
> That about cover it?



Not quite. I'm certain the cramping is secondary to the alien brain scans. Make certain to wear your tin foil hat at all times, even while sleeping. Just wait, these congressional hearing into UFOs are going to show all of this stuff...unless Big Brother suppresses the info just like they have for the past 60 years. The massive amounts of money and time congress will spend studying UFOs will be of tremendous value to all of mankind. Well, at least the time they spend will help us all because it will keep them occupied and prevent them from doing other stupid stuff like they always do.


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## dysfunction (Aug 15, 2009)




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## 411898 (Nov 5, 2008)

client_9 said:


> Looking for a way to prevent brutally painful hamstring cramps while I'm sleeping.
> It's not dehydration.
> I drink electrolytes before and after the ride.
> I've tried magnesium supplements.
> ...


How's your A1C? 

Try club soda that contains quinine.


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## LanceWeaklegs (Dec 24, 2019)

JKA said:


> Not quite. I'm certain the cramping is secondary to the alien brain scans. Make certain to wear your tin foil hat at all times, even while sleeping. Just wait, these congressional hearing into UFOs are going to show all of this stuff...unless Big Brother suppresses the info just like they have for the past 60 years. The massive amounts of money and time congress will spend studying UFOs will be of tremendous value to all of mankind. Well, at least the time they spend will help us all because it will keep them occupied and prevent them from doing other stupid stuff like they always do.


You can also make a chain of paper clips, hook one end on your belt loop, run it down the inside of the pants leg, and let it drag the ground. That will ground you. Works really well with a tinfoil hat.


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

client_9 said:


> Looking for a way to prevent brutally painful hamstring cramps while I'm sleeping.
> It's not dehydration.
> I drink electrolytes before and after the ride.
> I've tried magnesium supplements.
> ...


Maybe stretching 2-3 times after riding might help. Like 5 min than repeat 1 to 3 hrs later and a third time later.
Massages are popular with professional athletes. I use a massage stick after riding. I am no athlete so i only
use it when i had pain recently. They cost about 50$ and last a lifetime, a great investment for active people.


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## client_9 (Apr 28, 2009)

J.B. Weld said:


> Cramps are commonly caused by riding above your fitness level.


DING DING DING We have a winner. Still not in shape from Winter.


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