My professor in preventing and treating athletic injuries said that she has no scientific evidence why mustard and pickle juice help relieve muscle cramps. she is our athletic trainer at the school, and just says that they work.
I remember my phsio professor commenting on this subject, but i only remember him being angered by such foolish practices.
Has anyone ever been told about this?
Well, I don't know about mustard, but pickle juice contains salts and some electrolytes (probably some calcium and potassium, among other things).
I have no idea whether or not either would do anything for muscle cramps though.
thanks. pickle juice seems more obvious because of the electrolytes.
bump
In my opinion, pickle juice seems to help with muscle cramps. Never heard about mustard though. Others will say it's just nonsense.
sorry for bumping so much, but I'm real curious to what people have to say.
both are largely cancer causing. Im seirous, diets high in pickeled food are largely correlated with stomach and other cancers. Think about it, the idea of pickling something is to preserve it. Cant be good for you.
there is a cartoon style poster up at the ymca i attend and it says that about pickle juice. it also mentions there is no evidence for it, but opines the electrolyte thought as well.
if that is the reason, why not drink some gatorade?
drink what tastes better.
run bruce run wrote:
both are largely cancer causing. Im seirous, diets high in pickeled food are largely correlated with stomach and other cancers. Think about it, the idea of pickling something is to preserve it. Cant be good for you.
I don't follow your logic. Why would preserved foods be bad (not preservatives, preserved foods)? Isn't the point of preserving them to make them safe to eat for longer periods of time?
konami code wrote:
I don't follow your logic. Why would preserved foods be bad (not preservatives, preserved foods)? Isn't the point of preserving them to make them safe to eat for longer periods of time?
I guess I should stop eating refrigerated foods. The whole point of refrigeration is to preserve the food. Can't be good for you.
You can also try two Extra Strength Tums Chewables about 30 minutes prior to working out. That has helped me.
Pickle Juice works, just search and read all the stories of its effectiveness!
And please everybody, get off the "electrolyte" and "sodium" train. Gatorade marketing has you brainwashed. Pickle Juice provides near instant relief, too fast for its effectiveness to be the result of anything consumed and processed. The exact pathway is still unknown, but know that it's not because it replenishes your electrolytes or provides sodium.
If you do additional research, you will also find that cramping due to true electrolyte deficiency is systemic. Meaning, your armpit or jaw or some other ramdom muscle could possibly cramp, not just the muscles you are using during exercise like your calves or hamstrings. The reason for nearly all exercise induced cramping that is manifested in the muscles being worked is not electrolyte related.
I'm not a scientist, but I've been through debilitating exercise induced cramps, done alot of personal research to find a solution, and seen first hand with other athletes in competition that mere "hydration and electrolytes" are not the answer. Pickle juice works folks. I've seen a ton of people using mustard packs too, and I will be giving that a try soon as well.
The Philadelphia Eagles famously used pickle juice to beat the Cowboys and the Texas heat:
Was just about to say that.
Worked for Duce Staley.
Is it the juice from a jar of pickles or the actual pickling mixture?
Maybe it's something leaching out of the cucumbers that's the key.
BYU football uses pickle juice as well.
fascinating this got picked up again after 7 years...
researchers still don't know how it works. we do know muscle cramps decrease in severity after ~30 seconds of taking pickle juice and that the subjects don't have a change in plasma (blood) or interstitial (inbetween cells) even up to 1 hour after taking the pickle juice. plus that's way too quick to get from the gut to muscles. so it's not the electrolytes getting to the muscles. One thought is that sensory nerves in our throat (pharyngeal plexus) are getting stimulated (think massive salt rush in mouth) and this somehow triggers the motor neurons (those going to the cramped muscles) to calm down. Maybe a signal to the brain that hey, there is now a massive amount of salt in the system now, go ahead and calm the muscle down.
And they both work !!!
eddylee wrote:
My professor in preventing and treating athletic injuries said that she has no scientific evidence why mustard and pickle juice help relieve muscle cramps. she is our athletic trainer at the school, and just says that they work.
I remember my phsio professor commenting on this subject, but i only remember him being angered by such foolish practices.
Has anyone ever been told about this?
One of the common ingredients is vinegar.
I skip the pickle juice and go straight to vinegar when I get cramps. Works every time. Take it straight, about a tablespoon or dilute with water.
Didn't work for this guy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35x5H-7NVZY#t=162