Dehydration Probably Isn't Causing Your Cramps

Why do some athletes cramp no matter how much salt they take? In this episode of Fuelin Sessions, Scott Tindal is joined by Dr Alan McCubbin, sports dietitian and Monash University researcher, to work through the three main theories of exercise-associated muscle cramps. They dig into why the dehydration and electrolyte story has struggled to hold up in the research and how Kevin Miller's multifactorial model treats each athlete's cramps as their own recipe. Alan's take: there's no single cause, so control as many of the controllables as you can.

Martinez-Navarro I, Vicente-Mampel J, Lopez-Grueso R, Collado-Boira E, Recacha-Ponce P, Gomez-Sere T, Hernando C. Muscle Cramping in Ultra-Trail: Dehydration and Electrolyte Depletion versus Muscle Damage. J Strength Cond Res. 2026. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000005440

Martinez-Navarro et al. Muscle Cramping in the Marathon: Dehydration and Electrolyte Depletion vs. Muscle Damage. J Strength Cond Res. 2020. DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003713

Miller KC et al. An Evidence-Based Review of the Pathophysiology, Treatment, and Prevention of Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps. J Athl Train. 2022. DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-0696.20

Maughan RJ & Shirreffs SM. Muscle Cramping During Exercise: Causes, Solutions, and Questions Remaining. Sports Med. 2019. 49(Suppl 2):115-124. DOI: 10.1007/s40279-019-01162-1

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