Feet cramps

[Fearun9033]

Hi everyone,

I've been doing Shotokan Karate for about 2 and a half years now. It happens quite often that I have cramps in my feet as my style usually involves a lot of deep stances and balancing.

It's not really any bone or ligament pain. It feels more like the muscle is in pain (especially the part in the middle bridge area). I do all my proper stretching before and after training. It's not painful per se, but it really limits my endurance because my thigh muscles are just fine but I can't stand the cramps in my feet.

Any thoughts as what causes this? And any thoughts about fixing it? e.g. a certain workouts to strengthen the muscle? (if that's the problem).

Thanks!

- Fearun

[ninjanurse]

I too get cramps in my feet on occasion-and I have been a practitioner for many years. Often it can be attributed to adequate hydration before class-8 to 10 glasses a day of water plus adequate potassium in the diet can help.

[Fearun9033]

So lots of water and bananas! Thanks for the tip! Oss

[Lupin1]

I agree with the potassium thing. When I swam for a little bit in high school, I got cramps a few times in the water and had to basically drag myself out of the pool on my stomach like a beached whale... The coach had me stretch (which really helps the cramps go away when you get them) and told me to eat potassium right before practice and make sure I'm staying hydrated.

Also-- bananas actually have very little potassium compared to some other foods. Lima beans, plantains and, if you can find them, papayas are really potassium rich (my college roommate was a type I diabetic with really low potassium and she'd always complain when people equated bananas with potassium because "they don't even have that much"). Even pears and tomatoes have more potassium than bananas.

[Fearun9033]

Thanks for the clarification Lupin! My bad, I've actually never looked into the potassium composition of bananas and I just assumed it to be true because everyone said so.

I will definitely keep that in mind.

So assume you do get cramps, how to you stretch the muscles in your feet? I find that there is no satisfying way of doing that.

[Lupin1]

Which muscles are cramping? I would assume you'd put all your weight on the balls of your feet and lift your heels, then put all your heels, then put all your weight on your heels and lift the ball of your feet, then put all the weight on the inside and lift the outside, all the weight on the outside and life the inside, etc. Just manipulate your feet around and until you feel like you're stretching the muscles that usually cramp.

[Fearun9033]

Thanks!!!

[mr_obvious]

So lots of water and bananas! Thanks for the tip! Oss

Sweet Potatoes, FTW. I also take a supplement called "NO-Xplod," which has a good amount of Potassium.

I too get foot cramps. My school has thickly padded floors, which do tend to hyperextend the arches a bit, from time-to-time. I have a prescription muscle relaxer which clears it up quick.

[Sibylla]

Do you by any chance have flat feet? I had horrible feet cramps when I started in Shotokan, especially while holding stances and not so much while moving. It went away after a while. I attributed it to my flat feet getting used to something new.

Imho I would probably mention it to the instructor, and ask him whether it's ok for you to discreetly stretch and losen them up from time to time during training.

[DWx]

Dried apricots seem to be a pretty good source of potassium: http://www.nutritiondata.com/foods-009122000000000000000-w.html?maxCount=40

Sodium containing foods also help. So anything with salt content. Nowadays a lot of people make the mistake of trying to cut salt out of their diet completely...

I used to get bad cramping in my calf muscles. Used to drink lots of water with a bit of table salt and sugar in. Cheap alternative to fancy electrolyte drinks.