Many people have known the advice from childhood: before swimming, you should pin a pin to your swimsuit or swimming trunks, so that if a cramp occurs in the water, you can prick the cramped muscle with it. We decided to find out how justified this recommendation is.

Pin a pin to your swimsuit or swimming trunks so that when it happens spasm, inject by her reduced muscle, advise How Media, so sites various state organizations, such as regional offices Ministry of Emergency Situations RF and Russian Investigative committee, city hall, clinics And schools. They are discussing this way on websites questions And otv e comrade, V blogs. Some users even are interestedWhat is more effective against cramps is to prick your leg with a pin or bite your lip.

The everyday word “cramps” usually refers to skeletal muscle spasms, also known as muscle cramps. They should be distinguished from convulsive disorders - periodic disturbances in the electrical activity of the brain, leading to its temporary dysfunction of varying degrees. Convulsions Skeletal muscle contractions are sudden, short-term, involuntary painful contractions of the muscle, during which the affected area turns to stone both to the touch and in appearance. Scientists still know their exact reason not defined; supposedthat seizures may be the result of changes in the excitability of motor neurons or the result of spontaneous discharges in the motor nerves. Predisposing factors the occurrence of cramps - older age, overweight, pregnancy, diabetes or diseases related to the liver and thyroid gland, poor physical fitness and increased sweating due to heat and exercise. Lack of potassium, calcium or magnesium in the diet may also contribute to the occurrence of cramps. True convulsions should differ from spasms (any involuntary muscle contractions, including those of a nature other than cramps), contractures (not accompanied by electrical activity) and dystonia (involve a group of muscles, do not develop suddenly and do not go away spontaneously).

In general, cramps not dangerous, They don't require visiting a doctor and pass on their own after a few seconds or minutes. Doctors from the Cleveland Clinic, a reputable non-profit medical research center in the USA, writethat seizures can happen to anyone and this is absolutely normal. However, if the cramps are extremely painful, occur regularly, do not disappear after changes in lifestyle and diet, are accompanied by swelling and redness, as well as muscle weakness, still costs See a doctor as this may be a symptom of another disease.

The risk of drowning, according to research, higher y:

children from immigrant families and children of low-income parents;
children, which not trained swim and who are unattended by adults near a body of water;
boys and men (80% of victims over one year old are male);
persons under the influence of alcohol and other substances that affect the ability to assess the situation and attentiveness;
persons in a state of temporary incapacity due to health conditions (for example, epilepsy in children and adolescents is associated with a twenty-fold higher risk);
persons with arrhythmogenic heart diseases, including syndrome prolonged QT interval (swimming can provoke arrhythmias that cause drowning of unknown origin in people suffering from such pathologies);
people who engage in life-threatening activities that involve holding their breath for long periods of time underwater.

As you can see from this list, seizures are not among the factors that increase the chance of drowning. However, of course, a cramped muscle and sharp pain can cause loss of coordination and the ability to stay on the water. Helen O'Leary, Physiotherapist and Sports Medicine Doctor, explainsthat the main causes of cramps during swimming are changes in water-salt balance and neuromuscular control. That is, on the one hand, while in the water, a person does not notice how he sweats and loses fluid, on the other hand, the leg movements characteristic of swimming are carried out by those muscles that we minimally use when walking, which represents an unusual physical activity. In addition to the fact that many people do not stretch and warm up their muscles before swimming, this greatly increases the risk of leg cramps in the water. Exercise Physiologist Emily Codd notes two more factors that contribute to the occurrence of cramps during swimming are high air temperature and cold water, especially in open reservoirs. Both experts agree that before swimming, you should warm up a little: massage your feet and ankles, pull your toes first towards you and then away from you, try to raise and lower one by one, first four fingers, then just the big one.

If a cramp occurs during a swim, then it is best to turn over on your back (this will make it easier to support yourself on the surface) and wait until they pass. Immediately after its completion, you need to return to the shore and replenish the water-salt balance. Plain water is not the best solution in this case, since it does not contain the required amount of sodium. Study 2009, conducted by scientists from the Gatorade Institute of Sports Sciences (USA), and study A 2021 study conducted by scientists from Edith Cowan University (Australia) showed that those athletes who drink more water are more prone to cramps than those who replenish the lack of fluid with electrolyte drinks (isotomics). If you don’t have special drinks at hand, then the usual “beach menu” will help - for example, melons and apricots rich potassium, and sodium contained in any salty foods, including nuts, chips or crackers.

Jason Collins, orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician, explainsHow to act during cramps in the water - you should protect yourself (by getting ashore, swimming to the side, grabbing a swimming device or turning over on your back), and then massage the cramped limb with light movements. UK National Health Service (NHS) for cramp relief also recommends light massage of the affected muscle. More Can try to stretch the muscle, to do this you will need to contract its antagonist (for example, if the muscles of the back of the thigh are cramped, then you need to tighten the quadriceps muscle). Clinic specialists Mayo, like Clinics Cleveland, they also recommend massage, gentle stretching, as well as applying something cold or, conversely, warm to relieve tension from the muscle. Doctors do not recommend any injections with pins or other sharp objects.

Professional rescuers also see no point in using a pin in such a situation. Head of the first aid and water rescue school "Aquaspas" Dmitry Mikryukov believes, that it is almost impossible to use a pin when a cramp begins: “In an extreme situation, a person needs to think, remove a pin from his swimsuit (and this requires fine motor skills), bend down under water, etc. This advice has no place in the real practice of saving people.”

Finally, pricking yourself with a pin while swimming in open water is simply unhygienic, as there is a high risk of infection. One of the most dangerous diseases that can be get infected thus, necrotizing fasciitis, caused by so-called flesh-eating bacteria that affects muscles and soft tissues. In the early stages, this pathology is difficult to diagnose, since the patient only feels pain in the damaged area and, in some cases, a rise in temperature. And when the clinical symptoms become sufficiently pronounced, doctors most often have no treatment options other than radical operations, including amputation of the affected limbs. Even with such measures, mortality may achieve 73%.

And although in Media mostly fall history infectionthat occurred in the tropics beaches, such bacteria are also found in Russia. So, in 2021, specialists from the First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov described nine cases of necrotizing fasciitis of the upper extremities, in some of them the entry point of infection was a puncture wound. A year earlier, a case of necrotizing fasciitis of the lower extremity was described in Voronezh, doctors did not determine the entrance gate of infection. This work is also provided with detailed photographs of the treatment process - amputation was avoided, but extensive tissue was damaged and autodermoplasty was required. Because of their shocking appearance, we will not show the pictures in analysis.

Thus, it is useless to swim with a pin pinned to your swimsuit or swimming trunks, so that, if necessary, you can use it to save yourself from a cramp. Doctors advise massaging or stretching the cramped muscle rather than injecting it. Not a single reputable medical organization mentions the pin prick among methods of assistance in such a situation. Rescuers are also against this method - it is almost impossible to break off a pin and prick a cramped muscle with it in the water. Moreover, it is extremely unhygienic and can lead to serious complications. Instead of dubious methods, doctors recommend properly preparing for swimming: replenishing the water-salt balance in time, warming up before swimming, and under no circumstances swimming while intoxicated. Up to 70% of deaths in water bodies, according to statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), connected with drinking alcohol. There are no summary statistics for Russia, but some regional reports show even more disappointing numbers - up to 93% those who drowned were intoxicated.

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