One common culprit is muscle fatigue, which happens when the nerves that prevent muscles from contracting too much begin to malfunction. This is where pickle juice comes in.
As we consume it, the acetic acid in the juice triggers key nerve receptors that send signals to immediately stop the muscles from malfunctioning. Concerns with pickle juice arise when looking at how it may raise the blood levels of sodium and potassium to an unhealthy and unsafe extent. It's important to note that pickle juice is not the only key to treating cramping; stretching and hydrating are essential, too. You should aim to drink at least half of your body weight in fluid ounces daily, plus an additional 16 to 24 ounces for every pound of sweat lost during exercise.
Athletes who sweat heavily should typically aim to incorporate electrolyte-rich fluids, including those containing sodium. Although pickle juice as a solution to preventing and treating muscle cramps, it isn't a cure-all for everyone. The next time you experience muscle cramping, you may want to give it a try. Comments about the blog? Already have an account?
Login here. After a long training session with my teammate, we went to her house for some post workout fuel. While I sat at the bar as she rummaged through the cabinet for some Swolverine Clean Carbs and Whey Isolate, she did something that completely blew my mind. She opened the fridge, grabbed an empty pickle jar, and drank the juice. After I went home, I looked into it more, asking myself, does pickle juice help with muscle cramps? And if so, why? Whether its overuse, an injury, holding a single position for a long time, or nutritional deficiencies, muscle cramps can strike just about anytime and they can be painfully inconvenient.
One of the biggest causes of muscle cramps is lack of electrolytes. A big benefit of drinking pickle juice has to do with the sodium content. Often times, athletes and individuals looking for a quick replenishment of sodium lost through activity and workouts will turn to pickle juice for this reason, like my friend did. That being said, the baseline recommendation of sodium for athletes comes in around mg of sodium per hour and can bump up to over 2, depending on the condition of the individual and the activity.
We do however recommend not just relying on sodium as your electrolyte replenishment from activity, but also incorporating potassium that is lost during a workout, in order to maintain electrolyte balance. Another reason why pickle juice can be a good post-workout for muscle cramps as a go to replenishment drink is because the naturally occuring calcium chloride and vinegar. Calcium chloride and vinegar present in the pickle juice can make sodium and potassium have a better uptake and absorption rate.
When you workout hard, engage in strenuous activity, or are in hotter climates, your body becomes dehydrated. Sweat leaves the body to cool the body down during activity, but as it admits, it takes electrolytes with it like sodium and potassium. It is possible that other noxious tasting substances may also provide relief from exercise-associated muscle cramps. Note that hydration and electrolyte balance during exercise are still important for optimal performance. Dehydration decreases the ability of the cardiovascular system to provide adequate blood flow to both the working muscle and skin for cooling.
The right balance of electrolytes is important to keep the heart and muscle functioning properly during exercise. Miller, K. Gastric emptying after pickle-juice ingestion in rested, euhydrated humans. Athletic Training. Reflex inhibition of electrically induced muscle cramps in hypohydrated humans. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. This effect could not be explained by rapid restoration of body fluids or electrolytes.
We suspect that the rapid inhibition of the electrically induced cramps reflects a neurally mediated reflex that originates in the oropharyngeal region and acts to inhibit the firing of alpha motor neurons of the cramping muscle.
0コメント