I am a snowboarding weekend warrior. The other weekend I was riding through some epic powder on the East Coast. After lunch my quads started to cramp up. No matter how much I stretched them out between runs, the pain became more acute. First, how do I prevent this from starting? Second, if I do cramp during the day, how do I make it go away. Finally, is there any damage that I might be doing if I don't quit the activity when the pain persists during the day? Thanks!

— Merrick Raymond, Riverdale, New York

There's not much worse than a good powder day being compromised by some uncooperative quads. Cramps are typically caused by a chemical imbalance within the muscle. On a good day, chemicals flow across the muscle's membrane, producing contractions and subsequent relaxation. On a not so good day, the contractions get going, but the signal for the muscle fibers to relax gets mixed up, resulting in a constant, painful contraction.

There are a couple of things that can help reduce the onset of cramps. The first being training the appropriate muscles so you'll be optimally fit for a given activity. Since snowboarding requires your quads to stay contracted for long periods, doing exercises to prepare them is essential. A simple, and highly effective, quad exercise is wall sits. To do a wall sit, "sit" against a wall, with your thighs parallel to the floor and your knees bent at 90 degrees. Hold the position for one minute, then rest for 30 seconds. Repeat for about ten minutes. Gradually increase the hold time until you can sit for three to five minutes, that'll make riding seem easy.

The other important thing you can do to avoid cramps is drink a lot of water. The chemical imbalance that can start a cramp is often due to being dehydrated before you grab your board. Make sure you're getting enough fluids in before you begin a big day on the mountain (alcohol the night before and a cup of coffee in the morning don't count). Try to drink 16 ounces of water before the day begins and drink eight ounces of water an hour while you're on the mountain.

If you do get a cramp during the day, try not to stretch it out; that can make it worse. Direct pressure on the spot(s) where the muscle is cramped works best - just push hard and try to get the muscle to relax. Get some fluids in your system, take a break, and let your quads relax, then you might be able to head back out for a few more runs. Usually full-on cramps are preceded by "twinges" where the muscle will contract and not relax right away. Pay attention to these signals, taking an early brake can often keep your quads functioning. The chances of causing any long-term damage to the muscles are minimal. Like the rest of us, muscles are quite resilient.