HELP: Forearm Cramp!!

[Rip Van Dan]

Pickle Juice! They say it works. I just like the taste.
One of my X-girlfriends always told me I needed a banana, whenever I got a cramp. But, yes, to all the mentions of prevention above.View attachment 5369324

Bananas are a good source of potassium with about 451mg in one banana. And they do contain some magnesium which also helps with muscle cramps.

 

[bdplaid]

Some possible causes of your muscle cramps that don't involve physical injury or stress:

- Dehydration
- Vitamin D or other nutrient deficiency (magnesium, calcium, potassium)
- Electrolyte imbalance
- Thyroid disorder
- Nerve disorder
- Alcohol abuse
- overdose on OTC medication (pseudoephedrine)

All true. I'll add:
Eat bananas.
Eat Peanut butter.
Try to stay in some type of practice shape. Every time I don't stay in shape I get forearm cramps.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Could also be a potassium deficiency.
At least in my case that was the problem.

This would be my first thought along with plenty of water. I take Potassium Glutamate to avoid cramped muscles. A quick way to see if this is the problem is to drink a good amount of Gatorade or equivalent. I usually get relief in under an hour.

 

[Watchootognbout]

This would be my first thought along with plenty of water. I take Potassium Glutamate to avoid cramped muscles. A quick way to see if this is the problem is to drink a good amount of Gatorade or equivalent. I usually get relief in under an hour.

I drink more than enough fluids during the day.
Problem with that is the too frequent restroom runs at work.

 

[pcake]

pumpkin seeds are full of magnesium and taste good, too.

All good advice. Thanks all! Unfortunately I’m stuck at work all day, so I haven’t gotten any kind of electrolyte supplement, but I’ve been doing lots of stretching, kneading, massaging, and applying heat to it. It seems to be improving very slightly.

I think the most important thing may be to warm up before the gig, and play as sparsely as I can get away with. No need to add fillers, just need to get through the 2 hours alive.

It was the darndest thing. I hadn’t been playing excessively, or death gripping, before hand. The only thing that comes to mind is there was an uncomfortable twinge while I was typing at work two days ago. Maybe that was the snowball that turned into an avalanche.

have you been drinking lots of water?

 

[Mildew Jones]

Ive had cramping issues in both forearms in the last several years...all the previous mentioned stuff is good, I would add as I didn't see it mentioned, avoid energy drinks during gigs!
MJ

 

[Baker69]

Whenever I’ve had cramps (mainly in my fingers) it has been invariably down to dehydration.

 

[sawzalot]

I'll add, check if your neck is feeling ok. Pinching a nerve in your neck can do this also, in which case the solution is up at your neck, not in your arm.

 

[bobdabilder]

You can buy magnesium oil in a spray and rub that in.

 

[Thumpin6string]

I drink more than enough fluids during the day.
Problem with that is the too frequent restroom runs at work.

Potassium is the key.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

pumpkin seeds are full of magnesium and taste good, too.



have you been drinking lots of water?

I always drink lots of water, like 8 pints or so a day.

 

[DwaynieAD]

Today both sides of my left forearm decided to cramp & knot up, and I can barely move my hand. Extending my fingers (moving them back) is particularly painful.

I have a gig tomorrow night! How do I fix this?!

Magnesium, potassium, and water

 

[XJ_Wheeler]

Arm pump!! It sucks…
Stretching, hydration and proper nutrients are key as others have stated. I’ve also noticed that grip mechanics make a huge difference for me. My left forearm and hand cramp up with a thin neck. Doesn’t happen with a chunky neck for me. I raced dirt bikes for years. Slim, small diameter grips always gave me horrible arm pump and I could barely hold on after about 20 minutes at race pace. A larger diameter (just a few mm), half waffle grip pretty much eliminated the arm pump. 20 minute motos, 45 minute Grand Prix, multi hour hare & hound…no prob.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

Magnesium, potassium are two important electrolytes.

Drink some Gatorade or Pedialyte for electrolytes and hydration. Rest, warm up before your gig. Take it easy when you play the gig (think “marathon’ not ‘sprint’)

 

[Pdaddy1978]

I had legs cramps almost every morning until I started taking magnesium supplements. In the last 3 years, I've had leg cramps maybe 3 times.

Double hellyeah on the magnesium .... Its helped my severe cramps immensely.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

Id be careful not overdo any supplements…. Just hydrate, get your electrolytes, get rest, and gently warm up before playing.

 

[DaveParker39]

Munenori Kawasaki knows. (One of baseball's great interview guys. Sought out interviews as ways to strengthen his English)

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Gig Report:

It went really well!

I slapped an adhesive heat pad meant for menstrual cramps on my arm and that helped immensely. My arm only gave me a touch of trouble at the end of the second set. Even so, it had more mobility by the end than it did at the start.

I can still feel the cramp in there, but it’s significantly less than it had been. I think I’m going to lay off the massaging for today, as I have myself some bruises digging in with the lacrosse ball yesterday.

 

[Bird Lady]

You might supplement magnesium. Also if you like patches, tiger balm patches are widely available in drug stores.