ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2019
Muscle Cramping During Exercise: Causes, Solutions, and Questions Remaining.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Risk Factors for Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.Muscle & nerve · 2026Pooled it
- The Role of Electrolytes in Muscle Pain Syndromes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Implications for Temporomandibular Disorder.International dental journal · 2026Pooled it
- TheFrontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Sodium Intake on Health and Performance in Endurance and Ultra-Endurance Sports.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Muscle cramp susceptibility is associated with muscle-specific modulation of human motoneuron discharge patterns.Experimental physiology · 2026Article
- Muscle cramps as disorders of impaired termination of contraction: An integrated neurophysiological framework.Physiological reports · 2026Review
- Time-series analysis of the incidence trend of heat stress-related disorders in a hot and humid climate in a process industry.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Does running at an angle affect running economy? Metabolic, kinematic, and EMG adaptations to running on a camber.European journal of applied physiology · 2026Article
- Evaporative microclimate interval cooling reduces heat stress in thermal insulating protective clothing.Journal of occupational medicine and toxicology (London, England) · 2025Article
- Therapeutic efficacy of thiocolchicoside-nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug combination in pain management: A systematic review and cross-sectional real-world study.World journal of orthopedics · 2025Article
- Sports injuries in elite football players: classification, prevention, and treatment strategies update.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Review
- Progress in the application of epimedium and its major bioactive components in the treatment of orthopedic diseases.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- A review of nutritional recommendations for scuba divers.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2024Review
- Compositional Aspects of Beverages Designed to Promote Hydration Before, During, and After Exercise: Concepts Revisited.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Practicing Outside the Lines: Using Acupuncture in the Athletic Training Room and on the Field.Medical acupuncture · 2023Article
- Comparative evaluation of the potential anti-spasmodic activity ofSaudi pharmaceutical journal : SPJ : the official publication of the Saudi Pharmaceutical Society · 2023Article
- The Combined Effects of Short-Term Exposure to Multiple Meteorological Factors on Unintentional Drowning Mortality: Large Case-Crossover Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Article
- Kilohertz-frequency interferential current induces hypoalgesic effects more comfortably than TENS.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Fluid Balance, Sodium Losses and Hydration Practices of Elite Squash Players during Training.Nutrients · 2023Article
- Comparison of the asymmetries in muscle mass, biomechanical property and muscle activation asymmetry of quadriceps femoris between patients with unilateral and bilateral knee osteoarthritis.Frontiers in physiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Muscle cramp is a temporary but intense and painful involuntary contraction of skeletal muscle that can occur in many different situations. The causes of, and cures for, the cramps that occur during or soon after exercise remain uncertain, although there is evidence that some cases may be associated with disturbances of water and salt balance, while others appear to involve sustained abnormal spinal reflex activity secondary to fatigue of the affected muscles. Evidence in favour of a role for dyshydration comes largely from medical records obtained in large industrial settings, although it is supported by one large-scale intervention trial and by field trials involving small numbers of athletes. Cramp is notoriously unpredictable, making laboratory studies difficult, but experimental models involving electrical stimulation or intense voluntary contractions of small muscles held in a shortened position can induce cramp in many, although not all, individuals. These studies show that dehydration has no effect on the stimulation frequency required to initiate cramping and confirm a role for spinal pathways, but their relevance to the spontaneous cramps that occur during exercise is questionable. There is a long history of folk remedies for treatment or prevention of cramps; some may reduce the likelihood of some forms of cramping and reduce its intensity and duration, but none are consistently effective. It seems likely that there are different types of cramp that are initiated by different mechanisms; if this is the case, the search for a single strategy for prevention or treatment is unlikely to succeed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.