Leg Cramps. What I was taught

[Coldfooter]

A wise old Master Scuba diving instructor taught me in 1981 that,, if your cramp is in your thigh or calf you hold your cramp leg out straight and pull the end of the fin towards you hard. The cramp passes quickly although it might hurt for a second, but it works great!
He also added if a person tends to cramp easily try stretching your muscels before blasting away with the fins and,, Drink more water....
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[TubeDude]

[url "javascript: addTag('cool')"][cool][/url][#0000ff]As a former athlete, I have experienced muscle spasms (cramps) in most of the muscles of my body at one time or another. While float tubing, the two most common places one gets them is either in the calf or the thigh. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]A good preventative is to keep yourself hydrated and keep your electrolytes up. When you are fatigued and your body chemistry is out of whack, you are most susceptible to cramps.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Another good thing to do is make sure you have plenty of calcium. Milk will do it, but some people do not drink enough milk and should take supplements. Calcium in the muscles is a good blocker for cramps.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]There are several medications on the market you can get for leg cramps. I have not tried any of them. I still have a fair supply of quinine capsules, which I buy in Mexico. I do not think you can even get them in the US anymore. I take a quinine pill prior to going afloat and it does a great job of preventing leg cramps.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Leg cramps can vary in duration and intensity, from person to person and on each occurance. If they are mild, and pass quickly, that is okay. I have had some, in the past, that keep coming on and on, wave after wave. By the time they subside, I am sweating and my muscles ache for days.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]It is bad enough to get cramps while on shore. If you get them out in the water, especially when you are fighting against the wind, it can be murder. Makes you want to rethink ever going out in your tube again.[/#0000ff]
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[Coldfooter]

I've yet to get a cramp while tubin' even while using fins []
Oh wait!,, I had a butt cramp once but I think it was just from setting to long.

Back in the day I'd dawn the wet suit and tank and BC etc...etc... etc... I'd get them just about every time I went diving and always in my right thigh. The worst cramp I ever got was during my dive finals at Fish Lake. The test involved wearing a complete wet suit (head to toe) and fins and the task was to retrieve my weight belt and tank from 40' deep. It was rough just getting under the surface of the water wearing the wet suit without weight. Then powering my way to 40' deep was a killer after cramping up about 1/2 way down but I managed to retrieve my weights and tank and get all re-attached. I sat on the bottom for probably 10 minutes pulling on my fin until the cramp finally gave way. After I was back on shore I doctored my ills with cold ones the rest of the afternoon.
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[petty4life]

drink pickle juice that takes care of cramps
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[Jedburton]

I always get them for some reason. Especially in the back of my leg or my calf from trying to fight the wind for position, It could also be that I am usually fishing for 8-10 hours if it is my day off.
jed
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