Hi. Just 1 week ago I made the decision to help my poor, pathetic body out by starting a running program. I already lift weights every other day to help my upper body strength. Anyway, I decided to run 2 miles every other day that I didn’t lift weights.
1st day of running: Ran the two miles with no difficulties except the expected hard breathing, profuse sweat, etc,.
2nd day of running: Started out normal with warm-up stretches and such. Then started running. I was keeping up a moderate pace, when a painful ache starts in my lower right stomach region. “Just keep runnin, it’ll go away” I told myself. Wrong. The pain grew worse with each step. It got so bad I had to slow down to a walk. And the rest of the 2 miles the pain would start up again as soon as I started jogging/running.
3rd day of running: Started out with stretches, and started running. Sure enough, after about 1/2 mile, my side got another visit from the guest called pain. It sucked. Once again, the pain forced me to a crawl, and I walked for a lil while, then jogged until the pain got too bad, walked, repeat.
What the heck is causing this? I’m 16 years old, in pretty good condition, and I could easily run the 2 miles with no trouble except the pain in my side. I’m hoping it will wear off with continued exercise, but I was wondering if any of you had any suggestions to help. Thanks alot in advance, I love these boards.
Without the benefit of a history and a physical, take my remarks as a general guideline, and if problems worsen, see your doc. But basically it just sounds that, while you might be fit in general, your body is not prepared for this type of workout activity on a regular basis yet. I’d suggest reducing the mileage until the symptoms diminish, stick there for a week or so, then increase the distance slowly as tolerated.
Qadgop, MD
Sounds like what you have is a “runner’s stitch.” Do a search on that and see what you find. All I know is that I used to get them all the time and I tried everything recommended by running magazines (not eating for four hours before running, pressing on the point of pain, breathing out forcefully, lifting my arms while running, etc.) and nothing worked. After a pregnancy, though, I haven’t had the problem again. What I visualize having happened is my diaphram stretching out during pregnancy and stopping whatever was cutting off oxygen or causing the muscle to spasm. Most sources do say the diaphram is the source of the problem. Good luck… I’m guessing pregnancy isn’t an option for you (and I don’t recommend it JUST as a cure for running stitches).
I used to get the same thing. Many experienced runner that I knew claimed that I was cramping, and the best way to stop it was to eat a banana a day (for potassium). I do so, and the stitch is gone. Give it a try, and don’t forget to see a doctor if the pain gets too bad.
The term I’ve heard is ‘side stitch’. Nothing to worry about, you’re just out of shape, and/or running too fast.
Try slowing down and breathing deeply when you’re running. just change your breathing pattern when you feel it happening, breathe deeply which expands the muscles around your chest or something, then breathe out as slow as you can. It’s gonna be weird, but try it for about 30-60 seconds, it works for me.
I also recently started running. I’m in pretty decent shape from other activities, but since I’ve always hated running (it’s boring and not great on the knees), I’m very bad at it. Nonetheless, I figured I just may have to get away from an angry bear someday, so I should suck it up and learn to run.
There’s a lot of information if you look up “running stitch” or “side stitch” on the web, but the only thing that worked for me was simply trying to breathe more deeply.
Admittedly, this is pretty tough when you’re gasping for every last bit of air you can get, but it does work, especially on the exhale. If the stitch still won’t go away, exhale as much as you can, and then exhale even more by sort of coughing. This, as I understand it, stretches your diaphram upwards and prevents it from cramping.
A friend who is a much better runner, however, swears that running with my arms bent behind my head should also help. Not so for me, but you can give it a try.
I’ve found that deep breathing helps to eliminate stitches. I think this is because you then use the accessory muscles to help you breathe which relieves the stress on the diaphragm. When you race faster than you train, you tend to breathe rapidly and shallow, inducing the infamous stitch.
There is another theory by Dr. Mirkin, on the web, that holds that the stitch is not a cramp, but caused by straining the ligaments from the liver to the diaphragm. I’m disinclined to believe that, as I believe it’s a cramp.
If you exhale sharply every other time that the foot on the side of the stitch hits the ground, it’ll go away. This hint is courtesy of Runner’s World, about 4 years ago.
The number one thing to consider: what did you eat before you went out running? If you had ANYTHING within the 3 or 4 hours beforehand, that’s probably what did it. Particularly if that “anything” was milk or orange juice. Just keep a running log, keep track of what you were eating, what you drank, etc.
Side stitches will never stop bothering you until you figure out what’s causing them. Even then, you’ll probably still get them occaisionally. But remember, what you’re experiencing is 100% normal, and expected in runners. If it gets REALLY bad, you should probably take a trip to the doctor’s, though.
As I read this thread, I began to get a strange feeling of deja vu…then I looked at the date. Why was this resurrected?
Stares at barbitu8