Explain why a footballer who is super fit also fails victim to cramp then?
I am not convinced cramped is due to lack of fitness.
...because they are fatigued after running a real 8-11km in sprints.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cramp
It's hardly related to fitness. Strauss was talking k@k when he said that it is. Cramp can affect any cricketer at any time.
Wikipedia is not a scientific source of information. Try referencing that to your Uni assignment.:erm:
Wikipedia contributors get their scientific information on this from the Gatorade laboratory.
The Science of Sport guys down at SSISA...Dr Ross Tucker et al have debunked the common man in street theories about cramp being due to sodium, temperature etc...in fact because sweat is more dilute than plasma in sodium, the plasma concentration goes up not down as you sweat.
This is what they said in their report this morning:
The fact of the matter is that a cramp is NOT an injury. Andrew Strauss was 100% correct to deny the runner - maybe he knows something the SA team apparently doesn't (maybe he even reads The Science of Sport), because he must know that a cramp is primarily caused by a lack of fitness and conditioning, where the fatigued muscle goes into spasm, possibly as a result of reflex neural stimulation.
and:
Some say that electrolyte loss (particularly sodium) is the cause, despite the fact that no evidence exists for this, and no one has ever managed to show that people who cramp are deficient in anything (either fluids or electrolytes).
.....amongst others.
Have a read of their
series on cramp...the only cause during activity is fatigue and fatigue is managed through either endurance training or pacing yourself during the activity or both...but it comes down to being fatigued before you have completed your activity.
Smith cramped because he got fatigued during a long innings. That is a fact that has to be accepted as part of batting long...it may happen and the only way to avoid it if you happen to be someone prone to it is to get even fitter.
So Strauss is right and you guys are wrong.
...but don't argue with me, argue with Drs Ross Tucker, Tim Noakes, Jonathan Dugas etc etc
...but it does help that I have been running marathons, national level at one stage, for 30 yrs and have a Biochem degree.
cheers
