The Causes of Cramps – An Expert View

It was our great pleasure to welcome Professor Martin Schwellnus of the University of Pretoria, South Africa to the NSWIS last night where he gave a fascinating talk about Exercise Associated Muscle Cramping (EAMC) – his area of international expertise.

Professor Schwellnus and colleagues were responsible for breakthroughs in the late 1990s which challenged the general view of cramps being blamed solely on dehydration and salt loss. Professor Schwellnus presented an alternative view that EAMC could actually be due to neuromuscular fatigue and consequent altered neuromuscular control.

Professor Schwellnus, also a Director of IOC and FIFA Research Centres, has been involved in long term studies involving athletes, especially distance runners and soccer players who experience recurrent cramping. He was a keynote speaker on this topic at ACSM 2016 and will attend the Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Medicine Physicians Conference 2017.

This is an area of intense debate in the international sports science field, and NSWIS athletes, coaches and partners were privileged to hear from such an authority on the subject. The deeper understanding of the potential causes of EAMC, and measures to help manage and prevent the issue which were presented will certainly be useful in driving world’s best performance.