Continue a hike when legs start cramping
Yesterday I was hiking in partly deep snow where postholing was inevitable. I had no problems until one moment when I was getting cramps in the femoral. Luckily it was close to the end of my tour and walking got easier because the snow height decreased. But if this wasn't the case and I had to hold on for hours I'd been in trouble.
What can I do to quickly get rid of cramps so I am able to get to the camp or the end of a hike?
I think dehydration plays a major role here so I would pause, drink and get some calcium if I have. What else to do? Which drugs are helping?
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Its well-known to relate Cramps and Dehydration. So its obvious that you talked about hydrating yourself. But, in most of the situations muscle cramps can be stopped if the involved muscle is stretched. Be a bit careful about stretching at the same time.
The safe stretching exercises that I opt for involves stretching ankle by pulling the toes up and lying flat with the leg as straight as possible.
Treating muscle cramps in Calf:
- Straighten your leg and lift your foot upwards, bending it at the ankle so that your toes point towards your shin.
- Lightly massage the area until the cramp subside.
- Walk around on your heels for a few minutes.
That may not be the case, but check if its temporary Claudification.
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Depends on what's causing the cramps.
In your situation, high stepping is what was causing your quads to seize up. The best solution there would be to slow down and stretch frequently. If you start chugging fluids you can actually give yourself more cramps, the kind that you'd have to simply wait out.
I think electrolytes are the best way to get rid of most cramps that you can't stretch out, aside from rest. I keep a bottle of those electrolyte water drops to squirt into my water bottle if I need a little extra recovery.
One thing that I'll do in this situation–when I know that I'm going to post hole no matter how lightly I tread–is actually break the surface before transferring my weight to my leg. I do this by spearing through the crust with my pointed toe. It takes less energy to kick with each step than it does to lift your whole body out of the hole, so you fatigue slower, and put less strain on your muscles.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/8159. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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