# exercise-induced sudden explosive diarrhea

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-induced-sudden-explosive-diarrhea/356456>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 12, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-induced-sudden-explosive-diarrhea/356456 "2006-05-12T01:26:19Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-induced-sudden-explosive-diarrhea/356456/1 "2006-05-12T01:26:19Z")

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What causes exercise-induced sudden explosive diarrhea. This happened to me one time a long time ago so I know exactly what it feels like. Recently this happened to somebody I know so I know I’m not alone. Are we exercising like idiots? What sets it off?

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**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-induced-sudden-explosive-diarrhea/356456/2 "2006-05-12T01:59:27Z")

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No one knows for sure. The leading theory, I believe, is that since exercise leads to a shift in blood flow to the muscles, there’s less left for the gut. In some people, then, such a relative lack of blood flow to the bowel leads to diarrhea. YMMV.

[Here is one (old) reference](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=8460288&query_hl=1&itool=pubmed_docsum).

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**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-induced-sudden-explosive-diarrhea/356456/3 "2006-05-12T02:53:05Z")

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I have gotten that many, many times. I always just thought it was because of some kind of stimulation and physical jiggling in your digestive track. That isn’t too scientific but that was what I always felt.

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**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\
**Post date:** [May 12, 2006, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/exercise-induced-sudden-explosive-diarrhea/356456/4 "2006-05-12T03:18:54Z")

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> [@Shagnasty](#):
>
> I have gotten that many, many times. I always just thought it was because of some kind of stimulation and physical jiggling in your digestive track. That isn’t too scientific but that was what I always felt.

Not an answer, but all that reminded me that Nicola Tesla reported on the effect extreme vibrations have on the digestive tract, checking if I imagined that…

Ah, here we go:

[http://www.intuitor.com/resonance/tesla.html](http://www.intuitor.com/resonance/tesla.html)

> [@](#):
>
> For entertainment, Tesla once convinced his good friend Mark Twain to test out a vibrating platform in his Manhattan lab. Twain took him up on the offer and found it to his liking. When Tesla commanded Twain to come down off the platform Twain refused because he was having a good time. A few minutes later Twain ran from the device. It seems that Tesla had deliberately neglected to tell Twain that the vibration tended to cause diarrhea.