Cramping muscles are common, whether they’re associated with exercise or not.

Knowing what causes them can help people avoid them or treat them, but for many people it's not a simple story.

Norman and Tegan talk through some of the theories behind this painful phenomenon, and why magnesium might not be the answer.

References:

• Muscle cramps: A comparison of the two-leading hypothesis
• Influence of Hydration and Electrolyte Supplementation on Incidence and Time to Onset of Exercise-Associated Muscle Cramps
• Magnesium for skeletal muscle cramps - Cochrane Review
• A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study assessing the efficacy of magnesium oxide monohydrate in the treatment of nocturnal leg cramps
• Pickle Juice Intervention for Cirrhotic Cramps Reduction: The PICCLES Randomized Controlled Trial
• Australian Institute of Sport's sports supplement framework: pickle juice