Climbing the mountain is indeed very fun because we will see the beautiful scenery at the highest peak. During the climbing trip, we always have amazing things that can amaze us. But everything will feel inconvenient if when climbing we feel cramps in the legs and other body parts. Of course as a result our climbing journey is hampered.
One of the diseases that often approach mountain climbers is indeed not as deadly as hypothermia. Cramps are contractions of muscles that appear suddenly and cause pain. But calm down, this disease can be cured in just seconds, minutes, or hours according to the level of the duration of the contractions.
Cramps usually occur in the legs of mountain climbers as a side effect of dehydration, injury, or muscle fatigue. Lots of climbers are often affected by these leg cramps, especially beginners. Because in mountain climbing, of course, we will walk for hours carrying heavy loads on our shoulders.
Therefore, every time you will climb the mountain, you are required to do physical exercise by stretching and jogging at least 7 days before climbing the mountain and it is done regularly every day. But sometimes even though they have done physical exercise and warmed up before climbing, there are still people who get cramps due to the climbing terrain or choosing the wrong footing. Now you can do this step to do treatment or help when cramps occur on the mountain climbing route.
1. Stop Climbing For a Moment & Relax Your Legs
It will be very risky if there are signs of cramps and continue the journey. The cramps are getting worse and will be more troublesome. Of course, the choice to rest for a while and relax the cramped muscles is a wise choice.
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| Istirahat di jalur pendakian - munture.com |
Besides that, don't ever take too much care of your image (jaim) while climbing a mountain, because if you are jaim, of course, if there will be signs of leg cramps, you are forced to keep going because you don't feel good with your group friends. This will hinder our group's journey even longer, especially if the cramps are severe and it is difficult to walk.
So it's better if you feel pain in your muscles, tell a friend or leader to stop first and say you want to cramp your legs. So that first aid and prevention of cramps can be carried out immediately, which usually does not take long.
Because if you continue to walk when the cramps attack, you might be tormented by the pain that occurs due to cramps and makes your footsteps slower and of course hinder our group.
2. Sit Relax and Raise Your Feet Higher Than Your Heart
One of these muscle cramps does occur due to impaired blood circulation resulting from muscle constriction. And to help restore blood circulation, it is recommended to lift the cramped leg higher than the heart so that the circulation of blood flow returns to stable.
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| Angkat kaki lebih tinggi dari jantung - Backpaker Jakarta |
And of course, you have to relax or calm down and don't panic when cramps happen. Because if you panic, it will make other muscles too tense and can make the cramps worse.
3. Stretching Your Legs
This step is often done by football players if their friend is lying and injured in the middle of the field due to cramps. They will straighten their legs and then press the soles of the feet towards the injured body. This can indeed help stretch the leg muscles so that the cramped muscles can quickly return to normal.
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| Meregangkan otot kaki - sehatq.com |
But remember, don't press too much, because it can make the leg muscles even more injured. So just do what is necessary and don't let the cramps scream in pain because we press too hard or too hard.
4. Gently Massaging the Cramps
If the third step has been done, then you can gently massage the cramping part. When massaging, you can apply wasp oil to warm the cramped area so that the shrinking muscles can return to normal soon.
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| Pijat Perlahan - Foto Robert Przybysz Shutterstock |
But in this part of the step, you will feel several times experiencing cramping symptoms, and not infrequently the sufferer will scream in pain. Therefore do the massage gently and slowly and of course, the patient must be relaxed, not tense.
After doing this smooth massage, try not to continue the journey even though it feels no longer painful. But take a break to stretch your muscles and regain energy.
5. Drink enough water
Try to drink enough water to overcome dehydration which is one of the causes of these leg muscle cramps. Therefore, after the massage, try to drink enough water and don't drink too much, you might run out of water when you reach the peak.
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| Minum air - foto IG @deanbete_08 |
And during the climb don't forget to drink regularly when you feel thirsty and your throat starts to dry. But remember to drink, don't drink a small bottle immediately, so you can run out of water quickly. But just take a sip and then enjoy the sensation of the water in your mouth before it flows down your throat and ends with the word "ah..." like when you sip warm sweet tea. Believe me, it's a way to make us enjoy a drink more deliciously, even if it's a sip.
Although cramping is a trivial thing when climbing a mountain, the pain caused is very excruciating. Moreover, the cramps are usually the legs or calves. Of course, it can slow down the journey of our group. Therefore, the 5 ways above can minimize and perform first aid when cramps attack.
Best regards!
Don't forget to do physical exercise and warm up before climbing the mountain, so you don't get cramps.