Bicep Cramping

I sometimes get some mild cramping in my biceps towards the end of a day of climbing, but today was the worst it has ever been: after moving through about 15-ish feet of rock (most of which was traversing were I felt like I wasn't even using my biceps much), I could not bend either of my elbows more than about 45 degrees without getting a sharp, cramp-like pain in my biceps. And if I fully contracted my bicep and then extended it, this pain also went through my elbow and my upper forearm.

Anyone have any ideas on what I can do to help prevent this from happening?

I felt like I was eating well and drinking plenty of water (about 2 liters at this point in the day, not counting whatever I had drank before climbing). I had climbed the day before some, and did get really pumped on a route earlier today; maybe one or both of those had something to do with it?

I have had this problem before. I ended up purchasing a padded tennis elbow wrap and placed it just above my elbow and it seemed to help a lot when relieving the pressure. From what I have read and can gather, this type of injury has to do with over development of your forearm tendons and lack of development with tendons not used in climbing...For some reason, it causes you to have pain in the ones that are not really used for climbing. Why, I have no idea. I also found that after a day of climbing inside or out, grab a beer, watch a movie and use a dynaflex power ball. It has helped loosen up all my ligaments and improve my circulation (I smoke so I have bad circulation to begin with). I hope this helps and if I am wrong, please someone correct this as I am no expert in the medical field and will be happy to accept anything wrong I have said. Best wished to your pains.

Try some extra electrolyte supplementation. Works wonders for some people.

i have a lot of cramping problems, but usually only when i am doing a lot of strenuous crack climbing, particularly in the desert or at vedauwoo. i get the cramps in my hands, forearms, biceps, pecks, feet, etc. drives me crazy. i try to keep hydrated, and usually drink some accelerade after every few pitches, but still generally have problems. even at night when i am trying to sleep i will cramp up pretty easily.

if i am on a trip for a couple days or more, i try to limit myself to 2 beers in the evening (or 1 or none if i am still cramping a lot). also, i find that it helps if i try to drink 1 or 2 liters of water in the morning, before we head up to the crag.

There are several ways to approach this. It could be diet. Make sure you getting proper amount and type of liquids. I sometimes supplement my water with sea salt. It could be technique, maybe too much locking off through out the day. It could be a muscle inbalance, either the extensors of the hand or the "pull down" muscles. It might be the sliding surfaces of your muscles. I would look into massage and/or myofascial release, professional and/or self.

Brian S wrote:There are several ways to approach this. It could be diet. Make sure you getting proper amount and type of liquids. I sometimes supplement my water with sea salt. It could be technique, maybe too much locking off through out the day. It could be a muscle inbalance, either the extensors of the hand or the "pull down" muscles. It might be the sliding surfaces of your muscles. I would look into massage and/or myofascial release, professional and/or self.

Good post...

Austin, it's hard to tell exactly what's going on--whether it's muscle, injury, or chemical. Physioogically you are basically a potassium/sodium pump so it's possible something here is off kilter.

Quinine has saved me from dire cramping on several occasions.

3dchem.com/molecules.asp?ID…

My hands cramped so badly on the third day of my first wall that I could barely finish. I talked to an elite XC coach who recommended quinine and in my experience it has worked like a charm.

I've had some problems with my biceps in the past as well. Not sure if my condition is the same as yours, but I've noticed that if I'm only climbing for one day, my forearms fatigue and fail well before my biceps; however, on the second, or especially third day in a row of climbing, my biceps will often be the first thing to go. The only thing I can think of is that maybe biceps don't recover as fast as forearms, so after one good night sleep my forearms may be ready to go again, but my biceps are starting at a defecit from the day before.

Also, if I start to feel pain in my biceps and decided to just climb through it, I will usually be sidelined for at least a week unable to bend my arms. The only thing I've found to help is rest. . .

"biceps" is actually the correct singular form

Do more bicep(s?) curls!