Understanding abdominal cramps during exercise

Abdominal cramps are a common condition during sports training. Abdominal cramps cause a lot of pain, making the patient unable to move, needing recovery time, affecting exercise performance.

Abdominal cramps are common when the body is overworked, especially for those who exercise with high intensity. Sports athletes, mountain climbers, people who often climb stairs, pregnant women or people who are dehydrated, lose salt... are all susceptible to cramps.

Abdominal cramps often occur at times including: sleeping at night, muscles moving continuously for a long time, when the body is tired, hungry, thirsty, people often play sports in the background hard, before exercise do not warm up thoroughly. Movement cramps are common in large muscles such as the abdomen, shins and thighs, which are the most active and main weight-bearing muscles of the entire body. The risk factors for abdominal muscle rat are muscle fatigue, exercise for too long, exercise too hard, exercise in too hot or cold weather, and severe electrolyte loss in the body. In addition, continuous heavy exercise also causes lactic acid deposition in the muscles, leading to a disorder in signal transmission between nerves and muscles. So, even though the brain wants the muscles to relax after a workout, muscle contractions still occur, causing pain. The weather is too hot and the body will easily sweat a lot, leading to water and electrolyte loss, which is also the cause of abdominal muscle cramps when exercising vigorously and for a long time.

While exercising, suddenly having abdominal muscle cramps will cause severe pain, the patient must stop immediately, should not continue to move. To get rid of the pain quickly, you need to do a few things including stopping movement and trying to relax the contracted abdominal muscles. Gently massage the muscles, if there is hot oil to relieve pain, apply the oil to the cramping abdomen and massage gently. After the pain has subsided, the patient still needs to rest. Replenish electrolytes by drinking hot sugar tea, oresol solution, orange juice, lemon juice. Taking a hot bath will help relax your muscles and relieve the pain of cramps.
Some drugs can be used to treat cramps including vitamin E, muscle relaxants, pain relievers... Usually, abdominal cramps don't last long and don't cause significant danger. However, if cramps occur in dangerous situations such as while swimming in the water or jumping high, it can cause a serious accident.
Cramps, if only occasionally, are generally not a cause for concern. On the other hand, if the cramping is frequent or the pain is too severe and prolonged, then the patient needs to see a doctor and perform some necessary tests to accurately diagnose the cause and treat it appropriately.

People who practice sports can completely avoid abdominal cramps by: warm up well before exercise, drink enough water before and during exercise, preferably water rich in minerals and electrolytes, such as oresol solution, juice, coconut water. After exercise, it is necessary to perform muscle relaxation.

In a sitting position, warm up the muscles by bringing the foot towards the knee as high as possible, to help blood flow more easily in the calf muscle area.
In addition, a reasonable diet is also very important and should be suitable for athletes, full of substances: protein, sugar, fat, essential vitamins and minerals. Limit the use of stimulants such as tobacco, alcohol, and beer. Have the necessary medications and rescue equipment ready to promptly handle any abdominal cramps.
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