Why am I Suddenly Getting Stitches When I Run?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I starting running in March following the C25K plan, and recently ran my first 5k. Prior to my race, I only got a stitch once, on an uphill section near the end of the 3.1 mile distance where I was pushing pretty hard. It faded after 1/10 mi walking and I was able to continue.

I got a bad stitch in the last half mile of my race that I couldn’t shake by walking and I more or less limped/staggered across the finish line. Since then I have gotten a stitch every time I run, even when running a short, slow run – for example today I ran 1.8 miles at an average pace for me, and had a bad stitch the entire time after the mile mark.

What the…? Are these psychosomatic stitches or what? I promise I’m not in worse shape than a month ago.

  • I don’t overtrain - I run 3 days a week with 2 days being 2-mile treadmill runs at 12mi/min, and one outdoor run which is usually longer (2.5-3 mi) and around 13 mi/min.
  • I’m running the same streets and routes as before
  • I run in the morning before the heat of the day - yes its hotter now than in march but in an incredible stretch of luck I haven’t had a really hot or stuffy day so far. I think this morning it was in the 70s.
  • nothing’s changed in my pre-run food/drink habits.
  • I warm up with at least 5 minutes of brisk walking. This morning I actually walked about 10 minutes because my knee hurt yesterday (for no reason) and I wanted to be sure it wasn’t sore before I started running.
  • I don’t feel winded when I’m running. I am conscious of keeping an even breathing tempo. I really do run slowly. (I have a pacekeeping app that constantly tells me my pace, so I am not running faster than I think outside, and in the gym the treadmill paces me)

…Any other factor I haven’t thought of? What gives?

2

Have you added any stretching, especially twisting motions?
Have you lifted anything heavy recently?
Any nausea or a feeling of fullness without eating?

3

No (I don’t stretch before I run, only after. My brisk walk is ~15 min/mi)

No.

No.

Now that all of my runs are sustained running (ie, no walk breaks) I do sweat more than before. Can you get stitches from low electrolytes? But I honestly can’t see myself getting electrolyte-deprived from just a half hour of running at moderate effort. That seems ridiculous.

4

Most likely, you strained your diaphragm on your last race. That would explain the stitch lasting despite walking it in and recurring during training.

As with any injury, you need to rest the muscle. Don’t breathe for at least a week. :smiley:

First, non-impact training-cycling, maybe swimming.
If that doesn’t work, try some gentle deep breathing and see if that brings it on.

This is an injury I’ve never even heard of and there’s not much on the web about it.
You may need to see sports medicine specialist.

Second possibility:strained intercostal.

5

As with any injury, you need to rest the muscle. Don’t breathe for at least a week. :smiley:

To the first part, that makes sense, I didn’t know you could hurt that part of you… I always gotta be different!

To the second part, LOL, I’ll get right on that coach. :smiley:

Sadly I don’t have access to a pool or bike, I could try a spinning class though.

6

  1. Give it a rest. If you injured something, time probably will heal it. Try walking for distance for a week or two.

  2. More outside running once you heal up. Treadmills are to running like stationary cycling is to riding a bicycle. There’s a lot more going on than a machine can simulate.

7

Thank you for your suggestions but I can treadmill at lunch at work and I’m not planning to change up my schedule in that respect because running outdoors at work is impractical/impossible/dangerous (I work in the crowded financial district of lower manhattan and get exactly 60 minutes for lunch). It may not be ideal but I’m able to do it consistently and that makes it better than all other “better” training plans. It works for me.

I’m taking a week of absolute rest from running (I walk multiple miles daily already, that’s just life in NYC), I’ll do stationary bike (quelle horreur) for my cardio instead.

8

You are a stocking.

9

Another suggestion: how close to going for a run are you eating/drinking? I find that if I eat or drink a full glass of water within about 45 to 60 minutes before going for a run, I’m more likely to get a stitch. It’s everything sloshing around in there that seems to trigger it. If I have a bit of an emptier stomach before I go I won’t get a stitch.

10

First of all to the OP, always congrats on getting out of the chair and off to running. It’s a great feelin’ your body experiences after the run is over. I know it completely relaxes me for many hours to come. I also have to confess my ignorance, I never heard of the term stiches being applied to this, but obviously everybody else had.

You didn’t say your age, and don’t have to, but generally if you’re older, and starting out late, particularly over 50, you had better start out real slow. Most warn about this, and if you don’t, you’ll generally end up with a serious injury that will sideline you for some time to come. Our bodies are just not ready for it. You say you did start out slow, and I seen your pace on the miles, that is fine there, but I’m thinking you might cut back on the distances for now.

If you had rather keep running the same distances, two things I would consider changing. My running consists of about 80% off the side of the road in the grass or loose gravel. I also use an extra sole insert to help absorb some of the shock. I run pretty much pain free on virtually all of my runs.

I started doing my runs at age 50, fixin’ to be 56 in a few weeks. I don’t do any stretching, and just get a few gulps of water in, sometimes maybe a half a bottle if I’m going to do a 10k. Only thing I’ve ever experienced in over 1,300 miles is just two calf pulls, and another time, just about a month ago, in fact, I experienced my worst pain ever, but it was as my run was coming to an end. Kind of embarrassing, but my testicles felt like they were on fire. This lasted for several hours and I was miserable. Googled it some, does appear to happen to some, but nobody seems to think anything of it, and it hasn’t happened since.

The first year, seems like I always had little minor pains to deal with, didn’t think they would ever go away completely, but at least it was nothing that ever prevented me from finishing my runs, with the exception of one of the two calf pulls which occurred at about the 4k mark when I was doing the 10k’s. I think my body prefers the 5k’s more, but will occasionally still do a 10k.

When I had the one bad calf pull, I gave myself a really long break, perhaps three or four weeks or so of rest, before I ever started back out, and also went back to 5ks mostly. I doubt I needed to go that long. I only run maybe 2-3 times a week. Sometimes less when I’m taking care of my elderly dad which is every other month.
I probably only put in maybe 30-50 miles or so the first year, that’s how slow I got into it. My younger brother and nephew started doing this at about the same time, they both plunged into it, and have been sidelined for some time now due to their injuries. No need to rush anything. And don’t worry about your times either.

11

Update: I took the week off, and had a nice slow 25 minute run with no stitch today! Back on track!

12

Good news!

13

Hey coach remember me? I ran a very successful 5k on thanksgiving morning. Consistent 12:30 pace and I was 29 of 38 in my age group which means I beat 9 middle-aged ladies just like myself :slight_smile: (j/k but actually a woman in my age group (35-39) was the fastest woman).

Aaaannndddd … No stitches! Actually I sorta halfway felt one coming on but with rhythmic breathing and some of the other tricks I’ve learned, it passed. I still haven’t figured out why I tend to get them more than others.

14

the injury was probably brought on due to muscle fatigue. resting will help, but chances for recurrence are high.

I offer the following recommendations:

*) stay hydrated by:
+) eating more raw fruits and vegetables.
+) less (or no) salt.
+) less caffeine.
+) particularly good before running are an orange, apple, easily digestible fructose.

*) if you feel a stitch coming on, stop. better yet, quit, walk home, and start again tomorrow. staying injury free is absolutely the key to long term sustained fitness routines.

see if you recall eating a super salty meal the day before the first stitch, like pizza.

15

Of course I remember you. You tried to stump The Coach. :smiley:

You will probably feel some residual pain while the injury continues to heal. Some people are just more prone to stitches than others though what you had was not the typical stitch.