Release A Muscle Cramp Instantly By Contracting The Opposite Muscle

Release A Muscle Cramp Instantly By Contracting The Opposite Muscle


Ever have a calf cramp wake you up in the middle of the night, or knock you down in the middle of a workout? There’s a way to send that cramping, spasming muscle a signal to relax: contract the opposite muscle.

For your calf muscle, the opposite is the tibialis anterior, on the front of your shin. Activate this muscle by using it to pull your toes upward, off the floor. You can even have a friend push down on your instep while you push upward against their hand. Sometimes the cramp will release instantly; sometimes I find it takes a good 30 seconds.

Whatever you do, though, don’t stretch! In our calf cramp example, you’ll sometimes see people grab their toes and pull. But that doesn’t help, and can even cause damage to the cramping muscle. The point is to use the shin muscle to do that movement.

This works because opposing pairs of muscles are able to inhibit each other from firing, an effect called reciprocal inhibition. It’s essentially a signal for that opposite muscle to relax. The trick works on any muscle in your body:

  • If the cramp is in your hamstring, activate your quadriceps by straightening your leg.
  • If the cramp is in your quad, activate your hamstrings (bend your knee).
  • If the bottom of your foot is cramping, lift your foot and spread out your toes.

Check out the full post over at Tribook for more information on how to effectively get rid of those cramps.

Reciprocal inhibition to relieve muscle cramps [Tribook.org]


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

Here are the cheapest plans available for Australia’s most popular NBN speed tier.

At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Comments


3 responses to “Release A Muscle Cramp Instantly By Contracting The Opposite Muscle”

Leave a Reply