Let's shift over to something
we need to keep a close eye on
as we get active this summer.
Muscle cramps in our growing athletes.
So joining me this morning to share tips
on how to avoid those painful f.
Doctor Ashley Burlette Dr.
Welcome it's so great to see yo.
I'm a mom of
three. One plays baseball nearly all year
round so I'm very into this topic and.
Tell us first why muscle cramps happen
in kids and teens and they're prevalent.
Yeah. So they can happen
for a couple of reasons.
Sometimes it's just a new activy
or a really intense activity.
But then you couple that with
dehydration or having a bit of n
salt or electrolyte imbalance,
and those things can lead
those muscles to cramp. OK,
So what do we do and what
are some tips to help?
Especially, like, you know,
our kids are growing.
They're growing athletes.
What do we need to know?
Right. So. The most important tg
I can tell people is developingd
stretching habits in terms of beforehand.
So getting a good warm up
in and then stretching.
The most common ones that we
see in athletes are going to be
hamstrings and calves will get tight.
So having your kids work on stretching
that and developing that routin,
we could all use it.
But then another thing is
going to be hydration.
And hydration will really help
you prevented it for those musce
cramps, OK And I think it's fun,
especially if you have, I mean,
any age child, but I have little kids.
It's fun to maybe get into a
stretching routine with them,
make it something the whole family can do.
Yeah, absolutely.
There are so many ways online yu
can even find like family yoga r
family stretches and it will be.
And kids famed.
And that's something that you
can do with your family as
well. I love that doctor.
Establish the habits now.
OK, So if we are doing the thins
that we're supposed to do,
how do we treat the cramps?
Right. So one thing that you want to do is
make sure that if you are having cramping,
you actually keep moving.
The worst thing you can do is s.
So we have people bounce on ther
toes if their calves are crampi,
keep walking and stretching tho,
you know, sitting down.
If you're going to continue to be active,
like between innings,
not a great idea because those
muscles will kind of seize up on you.
So keeping moving is great,
but then massage,
things like that are going to h.
And again,
continuing to hydrate and then adding
some salts like a sports drink.
OK,
I was going to ask you about th.
Our sports drinks, OK Or some
better than others, Yeah,
so that's great.
Everybody worries about sports
drinks because of the sugar in .
But I tell people that if you're going
to do any activity, especially n
the heat that's longer than an ,
that's when you start to add the
sports drinks. In less than an ,
you're cool to stick with the w.
More than an hour.
You should really start to at
least somewhat incorporate
some of those sports drinks.
OK. Because I hear, you know,
you get on TikTok and everything
is going to kill you. And so
I, you know, but it's so true.
And I I'm not so much worried
about the caloric intake,
but I know a lot of people are d
they're always trying to find t,
like, perfect sports drink.
So I'm glad that you at least approved that.
For electrolyte balance and allf
those things, OK, what do we do then?
If we're trying all the things t
you're saying, we're hydrating,
but the muscle cramps aren't going away,
right? So the one thing we worry
about if kids are cramping and
they're not getting better,
there's actually sometimes where
you exercise so intensely that u
can actually get muscle breakdo.
And if despite hydration, that muscle
is still really tight and cramp,
sometimes you may actually needo
go see a doctor to make sure the
not having too much muscle breakdown,
that it's a dangerous thing. OK,
so pay attention to your body.
If it's still bothering you.
Get it. It checked out.
What is something I can do to
doctor as a parent to kind of
help my growing athlete and
foster their love of the sport,
but also keep them safe,
right. So I tell people,
when you're starting a new spor,
make sure you're working your way in,
taking your time,
especially if it's new outdoor sport,
getting used to the heat.
And then like we've been talking
about making those new habits e,
you know, different sized water
bottles can help to make sure tt
they're doing the right things.
That they know and have a visual
cue because half the time we
don't know what we're drinking
or taking in during the day.
But keeping them safe is going
to be making sure you're not
getting overheated and making
sure you're staying hydrated.
OK,
I love that we're getting everye
hydrated this morning on A and C
is there a certain water bottle
that you prefer over another ors
it just preference? It's totally
preference. So like,
this is a standard 16 ounces.
I tell people you should have ts
at least two hours before your
activity as you want 16 to 24 o.
Kind of typical.
These are about 30 to 32 ounces.
Sometimes they're a little bit bigger.
And then the big one,
if you're somebody who really needs a mark,
you can get these big ones.
This is 64 ounces.
And some of them will actually
have different Marks and lines
to try to give you hour by hour
that people will use at work.
But this is the minimum
people should have a day.
But I tell people at half an
ounce to an ounce per pound of
body weight is a good benchmark,
you know,
depending on the size of your c.
All right, Doctor Broulette,
thank you so much for being here
and keeping us and our athletes.
Safe. We so appreciate.