Abstract

MENDES, Pedro Miguel; MENDES, António Pedro; LOUREIRO, Nuno  and  ARAUJO, João Pedro. EXERCISE-ASSOCIATED MUSCLE CRAMPS: IS THERE ANY NUTRITIONAL SOLUTION?. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2022, n.30, pp.54-56.  Epub Mar 05, 2023. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2022.3009.

The incidence of muscle cramps during or after intense physical exercise, called Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps, is something recurrent in athletes of different sports. This phenomenon is characterized by a spasmodic contraction of skeletal muscle, usually of short duration, which causes pain.

Some hypotheses have been explored for the etiology of muscle cramps, such as hydroelectrolytic imbalance or imbalance of nerve impulse forces. These potential mechanisms have led to some strategies aiming to reduce the severity of these events, namely the intensity and/or duration of pain caused by muscle cramps. Ingestion of pickle juice or cider vinegar are two of the strategies with the largest body of evidence. This review presents the state of the art on this particular topic, although mostly supported by anecdotal evidence.

Keywords : Acetic acid; Muscle cramp; Exercise-Associated muscle cramp; Pickles juice; Cider vinegar.

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