Why do we cramp? And how do we stop it?
Our worker, Eddy, came by yesterday to iron out plans with my partner for the next garden job. When they were done talking Eddy turned to me, knowing I do bodywork and asked, “Why does the back of my shoulder cramp up?” I know he was asking because he wanted to know why, but, maybe moreso, because he hoped that information could help him stop the pain from happening in the first place.
To address the 2nd question 1st, there is a quick and effective muscle magic trick which is worth a try in the interim before figuring out how to prevent the cramp in the first place.
The quick trick is: deactivate the cramping muscle by activating its opposite. For instance, if your calf is pulling your toes down from the back of your lower leg causing a calf cramp, use the muscles on the front of your leg to pull your toes up, to actively engage the opposite side. When this muscle magic trick is the right tool for the job, it works in seconds.
This ‘activate the opposite’ works because pairs of our muscles work opposite to one another. Ie., to do a bicep curl, to engage the bicep, to turn on the bicep, the opposite muscle, the tricep has to be ‘off,’ or disengaged. The opposite is true, too; to do a tricep extension, the bicep must be ‘off.’ Understanding this rule of opposites, helps with any muscle cramping if you think “what is the opposite of that muscle?” Mostly it’s front vs back of the body as opposites.
In the case of the back of a shoulder cramping, the opposite of the back of the shoulder would be the front of the shoulder, or primarily the Pectoralis Major muscle, or his “Pecs”. When Eddy felt the back of his shoulder cramping, if he were to engage his Pec muscles, like squeeze his Pecs together in the front, it could pretty immediately deactivate firing of the back of the shoulder muscles and relieve his cramping.
But it wouldn’t be enough to keep it from happening again if the reason it happened in the first place weren’t figured out and solved.
To address the 1st question now, the reason, I explained to Eddy, could be multiple reasons, either individually or in combination because the body is a combination of systems. Although we speak of it as one ‘thing’ the body is not simply one ‘thing.’ It is a sophisticated symphony of multiple systems collaborating in sync simultaneously to support your being and doing everything you are right now. And right now. And right now.
These systems include 12 physical systems, a number of mental/emotional/spiritual systems, existing in a number of environmental ecosystems across the 4th dimension: time.
The good news here is that as complex as these interactions are that result in who we are and how we feel right now, there are simple points of entry to explore to ease that cramping pain.
Cramps may boil down to 5 basic influences that I asked him about:
1) hydration – are you absorbing enough water, relative to caffeine and alcohol intake, for your urine to be a clear color and the skin on the back of your hand to rebound quickly when pulled up? We can drink a lot of water without absorbing it if we don’t have the right electrolyte balance from certain essential mineral nutrients.
2) nourishment/nutrients – do your muscles have enough and a good balance of minerals including salt, potassium, calcium and magnesium? We can lose these essential minerals when we sweat or urinate excessively. Replenish quickly with electrolytes. You can spend a lot of money on pre-made drinks or DIY simply at home with 1/4 tsp sea salt + 2 Tbsp lemon/lime juice in 24 oz of water.
3) activity – excessive activity or rapid change from doing nothing to exerting a lot. Are you working a lot, physically, without taking enough breaks to rest, stretch and refresh yourself? If you ended your workday 15-30 minutes later without cramping would it be worth it?
4) restoration – is your body getting enough high quality sleep to recuperate from the days’ activities? Is your bed supportive? Are you getting the right support from your pillow for your neck and head to be supported in anatomical neutral differently when you’re on your back vs on your side/s? When you’re on your back, to be anatomically neutral, your head needs little or no support and your neck could use some. When you’re on your sides, your head needs a certain amount to be anatomically neutral, or 90º to your shoulder, but your neck needs just a little more than your head to be in neutral. Do you have a good pillow that gives you what you need differently in these different positions? If not, consider playing around with different pillows to get the right neck and head support to have restorative sleep or check-out the Tri-Core pillow.
5) nerves – are your nerves feeding those muscles compromised in any way, maybe pinched at the neck? If that part feels worse sleeping on one side, that may be a sign that your nerves to that area are being pinched. If that pain in bed is relieved by proper neck support, which will be different when you’re on your back vs on your sides, then it’s a sign that getting the right support from your pillow is essential. If your neck is well supported in anatomical neutral whether your on your back or your side, it may be time to consider getting a massage and/or seeing a Chiropractor.
If all 5 of these factors are addressed and you’re still having cramps, it would be worth discussing with your doctor to rule out:
- Narrowing arteries feeding blood to those muscles
- Excess weight as a factor
- Diabetes
Usually cramps go away on their own. In my massage practice I often hear clients talk about “walking off a cramp.” If you try to ‘activate the opposite’ you may never have to get out of bed again to turn a cramp off. Give it a try. Let me know how it works for you, or if not, so we might explore a more efficient way to help you sleep well at night and feel better by day.
