Although most of us do not know this, there are two kinds of cramps, Cold cramps and Heat cramps. Cold cramps occur irrespective of the weather and occur due to lack of physical fitness. Heat cramps are physical stress-induced muscle contractions.


They occur during or after physical exertion in the heat, although exertion could also cause cramps in cool weather. Cold cramps are not related to heat and reflect lack of fitness. But heat cramps occur when excess heat is generated in the body and is aided by external heat and exertion, in the muscles of a person.


Heat cramps happen when you sweat profusely and replace lost water, but not the salt. This causes hyponatremia. Heat cramps are very sudden and occur in muscles that are at the extremes. There is a lot of pain experienced while it also renders the person incapable of moving. Heat cramps could last for a period of a few minutes to an hour.
 
Knowing the reasons for heat cramps the people who normally suffer from the same include Manual laborers such as construction workers, engine room personnel, steel workers, roofers, miners and so on. Military trainees – mostly young inductees who are required to go through rigorous amounts of training in the heat for hours are also susceptible to heat cramps. Heat cramps are very common among athletes. The professional expertise of athletes is to go through rigorous amounts of exertion in the heat. Considered as an occupational hazard, athletes are trained to counter heat cramps.

Heat cramps could occur to anyone at anywhere and at any time and therefore knowledge about ways to relieve a person from the same would be very beneficial. Firstly, move the person out of the sun in a cold shaded area. Gently stretch the affected muscle and hydrate the person with a sports drink or even water. You could also add a teaspoon of salt to the water. Avoid massaging the cramped muscle as it would increase the pain. Use only oral rehydration salts and avoid any salt tablets as they are concentrated and could make most people nauseous.

Let the person rest for sometime thus allowing enough time for the body to cool down. Once the body is cooled let the people do some gentle motion exercises, before getting on to any strenuous activity. A few hours of rest is recommended so that the muscles also get some time to relax.