Why You’re Cramping — And What the Evidence Actually Says to Do About It

You’re 70 minutes into a game or a long run and then it hits; that sudden, vice-like seize in your hamstring or calf that stops you dead. You hobble to the sideline, someone hands you a banana and tells you to drink more water, and you spend the next ten minutes wondering if your race or match is done. Sound familiar? For anyone who has played sport in the Sutherland Shire summer heat, muscle cramps are an unwelcome but very common companion.

The frustrating part is that most of the advice you hear — drink more, eat more salt, load up on electrolytes — is only part of the picture. The science on exercise-associated muscle cramps (EAMC) has actually shifted considerably over the last decade, and it’s worth understanding what’s really going on.For years, cramping was pinned almost entirely on dehydration and electrolyte loss. That explanation is tidy and easy to communicate, and it’s driven an enormous sports drink industry. But if hydration were the whole story, you’d expect well-hydrated athletes to never cramp — and that simply isn’t what we see in practice.

Many athletes cramp in cool conditions, during shorter events, or even when their fluid and sodium levels are perfectly normal. Others sweat buckets across a full 90-minute game and never cramp once. If you’ve ever wondered why your training partner seems immune while you’re stretching out a calf on the sideline, there may be a better explanation than what’s in your drink bottle.

Research has increasingly pointed toward a neuromuscular fatigue model as a primary driver of EAMC. The idea is that cramping is less about what’s in your blood and more about what’s happening in your nervous system — specifically, altered neuromuscular control in a fatigued muscle. Studies have found that cramps occur most frequently in muscles working near their maximum capacity, and that athletes who cramp tend to have gone out harder and faster than their training had prepared them for.

Interestingly, one of the more compelling pieces of evidence for the neuromuscular theory comes from research into pickle juice. A study published in the journal *Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise* found that pickle juice relieved electrically-induced cramps about 45% faster than water — and it worked too quickly for the electrolytes to have been absorbed. The researchers concluded the effect was likely neurological, with the sharp taste triggering an oropharyngeal reflex that reduces motor neuron excitability. In plain terms: it may stop the cramp signal in your nervous system, not replenish what’s in your muscles.

So what should you actually do? A sensible, evidence-informed approach covers both fronts:

1. Prioritise conditioning over cramping remedies. If you’re cramping consistently, the most useful question is whether your training load matches your competition load. Cramps are often a signal that a muscle group is being asked to work harder or longer than it’s been prepared for. Progressive training that builds specific fitness for your sport is the most effective long-term strategy.

2. Don’t dismiss hydration and electrolytes – but keep them in context. Starting exercise well-hydrated and maintaining fluid intake during prolonged events (especially in heat) still matters. Sodium loss over a long race or multi-game day is real and worth managing. But don’t rely on a sports drink to solve a conditioning problem.

3. Keep pickle juice in your kit for acute cramps. A small amount (roughly 60–80ml) appears to help resolve cramps quickly in the moment. It’s not a prevention strategy, but it’s a genuinely useful acute intervention worth having on hand.

4. Stretch and move through mild cramps where possible. Passive stretching of the affected muscle remains a reliable short-term relief strategy during activity.

Here at Parkside, when someone comes in with a recurring cramping problem, we look beyond the sideline quick fix. We assess their training load, movement patterns, and any areas of muscular weakness or fatigue that might be contributing. Cramps are often a message worth listening to, and understanding the why makes a real difference to managing the when.

If cramping is a regular feature of your sport — whether you’re playing local footy, running Sutho to Surf, or training through the week — it’s worth getting a proper look rather than just reaching for another electrolyte tablet. It’s also really important to make sure you haven’t actually injured that muscle. A cramp should go away within minutes. Sharp, localised pain that persists for days is worth a look.

If muscle cramps are disrupting your training or costing you in competition, we can help you work out what’s actually driving them and put a practical plan in place.

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