The first neuromuscular supplement for exercise associated muscle cramps has been developed in South Africa. Picture: SUPPLIED

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EXERCISE-associated muscle cramps affect almost all endurance athletes at some point, preventing them from performing at their best, or sometimes from performing at all.

Despite being so common, these cramps are little understood, and treatments with supplements designed to alleviate the condition have largely been ineffective. Athletes continue to cramp, and no one has been able to help them.

Scientific breakthroughs published in medical and scientific journals have shed new light on the misunderstood phenomenon. Until now, it was commonly supposed to be caused by electrolyte depletion and dehydration, despite the fact that adequately hydrated athletes with sufficient concentrations of electrolytes in their systems cramp frequently.

In the past decade, however, several researchers have uncovered an alternative neuromuscular explanation for exercise-associated muscle cramps. Certain motor neurons trigger the cramping action in response to stressed muscles.

The cure, therefore, would need to target neuromuscular receptors rather than focusing on rehydration and electrolyte-replenishment as the principal solution.

The research team at Best4 Sports has been pursuing this hypothesis and formulating a new natural supplement to inhibit the cramps based on up-to-date research. A breakthrough in its investigation led to the formulation of a supplement with active ingredients derived from natural products that inhibits the motor neurons that trigger the cramping. It is called CrampNot and it is the world’s first commercially available natural neuromuscular supplement for exercise-associated muscle cramps.

It comes in a gel sachet. Athletes consume a sachet before the start of a race or an intense training session, followed with a second dose about three hours later, and drink enough between doses. It also contains corn syrup, caffeine, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, sodium, potassium and flavourants, which provide an energy substrate and electrolyte component. A formulation called CrampNot Naturale has also been developed for keto-adapted or fat-adapted athletes.

Sivi Gounden, chairman and founder of the HolGoun Group that owns HolGoun Healthcare and Best4 Sport, is passionate about endurance sport. He has completed 21 Dusi canoe marathons since his first in 1986. This year, he swam the Midmar Mile with his 23-year-old daughter.

"Not only has the science behind the product excited me, but also, its practical application in the field of endurance sport," Gounden says. He says it’s no surprise that this breakthrough was made in SA.

"After all, SA is at the very centre of the endurance sport world, with the Duzi, the Comrades Marathon, the Cape Cycle Tour and the Midmar Mile attracting endurance athletes from around the world each year."

He says scientists’ natural instinct is to respond to complex problems with equally complex solutions.

"The breakthrough occurred when we realised that a relatively simple solution existed within nature to address the complex exercise-associated muscle cramps problem.

The product was tested on athletes at a recent 100km cycle event. The test sample of athletes, chosen because they are known crampers, suffered no cramps for the duration of the race or immediately afterwards.

CrampNot was also tested at the recent Dusi Canoe Marathon on 10 known crampers, with similar results. Best4 Sports is also conducting a full-scale clinical assessment with the neurology department of a domestic medical school. The results of these tests will be published in a peer-reviewed medical or scientific journal.