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Can you explain something to me? My brother and I are identical twins. We are both 16-years-old and actively involved in all kinds of sports. I get muscle cramps in my legs, he doesn't. How come? We seem so alike in every other way -- our size is the same, we eat the same foods, we both exercise, train, and workout together.

You may be experiencing something called exercise-associated muscle cramps and you may be someone who is cramp prone. There are lots of theories around the reason why some people develop muscle cramps and others don't. Athletes of all kinds experience them -- including recreational and high-level competitive players. It doesn't seem to matter what type of sport the player is involved in. Climate (hot and humid) may be a factor. Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances are more likely during hot, humid outdoor activities. The dehydration theory is the most commonly used explanation. But why does dehydration trigger exercise-associated muscle cramps? Sweat loss without replacing fluids adequately alters the balance of fluids and electrolytes (chemicals) in the body. Without the proper mix of calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, chloride, and others, the nerve endings attached to the muscles can't work properly. When the nerve terminals are too sensitive, they set off a series of events that leave the muscles in a chronic state of contraction, unable to relax. That's when the muscle cramps become unbearable. But this is just a theory based on observations of athletes suffering from muscle cramps in hot environments. The fact is, the same problem has been seen in athletes exercising in cool or temperature controlled arenas and gyms. So maybe it's something else -- like some athletes are just more susceptible because of the way their bodies function. Maybe there are crampers and noncrampers and that's just the way it is! The next theory proposed is the neuromuscular theory. In this model, muscle overload during exercise results in an imbalance within the motor firing mechanism of the muscle. The feedback loop that tells a muscle when to contract and when to relax gets off-balance. An imbalance of impulses results in messages to the muscle to contract getting stuck. Stretching the muscle overrides the system and is like hitting the reset button. Scientists have found it difficult to study this problem. Animal models (cats, rabbits) can't be used because they have different neuromuscular signaling mechanisms that don't match humans. It’s likely that exercise-associated muscle cramping is the result of a combination of factors. Working backwards (find a solution, then figure out why it's working) hasn't panned out either. People have used a wide variety of sports drinks, massage, electrical stimulation, changing exercise/workout intensity, and even drinking pickle juice! None of these seems to work equally for all people prone to muscle cramps or in the midst of an attack. All that to say that the cause of your muscle cramping (while your twin has none) remains a mystery. Even identical twins have their own body chemistry function, balances, and imbalances. There is a reason -- we just don't know what it is yet.

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