Cramping in Sports: Beyond Dehydration

EXERCISE-ASSOCIATED MUSCLE CRAMPS (EAMC) ARE A COMMON, YET POORLY UNDERSTOOD PHENOMENON IN ATHLETIC COMPETITION. PREVAILING WISDOM SEEMS TO SUGGEST THAT DEHYDRATION AND ELECTROLYTE DISTURBANCES ARE THE MAIN CAUSE OF EAMC; HOWEVER, ON REVIEW OF THE AVAILABLE LITERATURE, THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE THE CASE. THIS ARTICLE PRESENTS AN EXAMINATION OF THE PAST AND PRESENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE SUBJECT OF EAMC IN THE HOPES OF FACILITATING A GREATER UNDERSTANDING SURROUNDING THE POSSIBLE CAUSES OF CRAMPS DURING EXERCISE. A VIDEO ABSTRACT OF THIS ARTICLE CAN BE FOUND IN SUPPLEMENTAL DIGITAL CONTENT 1 (SEE VIDEO, HTTP://LINKS.LWW.COM/SCJ/A151).