Stitches when running

bikergal

Hi, I have done a marathon and some triathlons, have to admit that running is not my strongest sport. I seem to get stitches/cramps just my ribs on the rhs when i run. Anyone know what causes this and how to get rid of it? Last week, while doing the half mara, I got a horrible stitch/cramp just above the front of my hip, at 10 miles. I had a big bowl of porridge for brekkie, did not eat 2 hrs before start, had max three glasses of water and a power bar gel on the way round. This cramp/stitch lasted until the finish. Dunno why i get them, I try to breathe deeply when running. Can anyone explain the difference between a cramp and a stitch, and how to get rid of them?
Have had cramps in legs before, so am familiar with that lovely feeling!

billyhead

Hi Bikergal.

A stich or cramp is caused by improper stretching and poor hydration- a good strech for the diaphragm is just to suck your gut in and hold it, and make sure to drink plenty of water the night before you run- drinking while running (at least for me) ususally doesn't help much and just makes my stomach hurt. Drinking the night before allows your body the time to properly disperse the water. Also I eat porridge daily but I would never have it before a race. It just sits on my stomach and my tummy feels queasy. The reason I have it every other morning is because I train in the evenings. You should just try having a banana or an energy bar such as a powerbar before a race. All the best

bikergal

Hi, thanks for that. Will drink more water the next time. I tend to drink about three litres a day, thats on a normal day, without hydration during training.

copacetic

Have to disagree with Billy there, that isn't the cause of any stitch I have ever had. Usually for me it is from drinking too much too close to the race.
By the sounds of it bikergal you are drinking plenty of water so I'd ignore the advice to drink more tbh.

akearins

Hi,
Just stumbled onto this post and can relate to it.
I suffered very bad stistches during races, starting on my lowr right side and shooting up into my right shoulder.Tried all breathing excercises stretching etc. but still no use.
I read about the water intake and food before a race and folowed this stringintly, but still no good.
What I did was eat my last meal before a race(up to 10km) at least 4-5 hours before the race only drink small amounts of water evey hour (a cup only) to stay hydrated, no sports drinks, maybe a small dash of diluted fruit concentrate and pinch of salt.

Also if you experience the stitch on the right side, this is where most of the major organs are located and waht can happen is that te diaphram and organs actually collide(one going up one coming down) from the impact of running.So if you can practice landing on left leg every second breath.

Hope it helps

tunney

billyhead wrote: »

Hi Bikergal.

A stich or cramp is caused by improper stretching and poor hydration- a good strech for the diaphragm is just to suck your gut in and hold it, and make sure to drink plenty of water the night before you run- drinking while running (at least for me) ususally doesn't help much and just makes my stomach hurt. Drinking the night before allows your body the time to properly disperse the water. Also I eat porridge daily but I would never have it before a race. It just sits on my stomach and my tummy feels queasy. The reason I have it every other morning is because I train in the evenings. You should just try having a banana or an energy bar such as a powerbar before a race. All the best

Eh I'd ignore most of this advice if I was the OP.

copacetic

tunney wrote: »

Eh I'd ignore most of this advice if I was the OP.

:eek: i agree with tunney, that hasn't happened since early days on the triathlon ireland forums. I'm going for a lie down...

Racing Flat

i always thought there were 2 causes of stitch

1 running on a stomach with too much food or too soon after eating.

2 going out too hard.

And you feel one on the left and the other on the right but this might be an old wives tale. Will check The Lore of Running, bound to be in there.

The food in stomach thing is not a problem for me generally so usually if I stitch it is because I have gone out too hard so if I slow a bit it dissipates.

copacetic

funny you bumped this RF, just back from a run and got my first stitch in about two years. Got it on the right and it was from going too hard on a tempo/interval run.

Racing Flat

copacetic wrote: »

funny you bumped this RF, just back from a run and got my first stitch in about two years. Got it on the right and it was from going to hard on a tempo/interval run.

Interesting, will have a look at that book when I get back in a few weeks

copacetic

not sure I have ever gotten one on left though. competitive runners handbook reckons that most people breath when there right foot strikes, meaning they will get the stitch on that side. They have the usual stuff about alternating breathing etc if you get one.

Personally although it is painful, I'm with them on just running through it, you know it isn't going to lead to any damage and it will go eventually.

Well, at least in a race, tonight I slowed down a bit.

poh

I followed the advice on this website and it worked for me

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/cs/injuries/a/aa053100a.htm

As mentioned by other posters as the left foot hits the ground exhale.
After a few weeks I found that I do it without realising it.
I've been stitch free ever since :pac:

paulksnn

I thought a stitch was caused by improper breathing.
More specifically, I thought it was because of fast shallow breathing, which means that the diaphragm is constantly in a stretched high state.
The cure is supposed to be deeper belly breathing.
Just my 2 c

How Strange

paulksnn wrote: »

I thought a stitch was caused by improper breathing.
More specifically, I thought it was because of fast shallow breathing, which means that the diaphragm is constantly in a stretched high state.
The cure is supposed to be deeper belly breathing.
Just my 2 c

IMO, it's not always caused from shallow breathing. I went out for my long run yesterday, did 14 miles and got a cramp around 12.5miles on the right hand side. stopped for a couple of seconds to see if it would ease and then had to try a regular breathing technique to just get finished but it didn't help.

I'd say, for me anyway, it's a sign I was pushing myself to my limit and possibly I was dehydrated at that stage.

RacoonQueen

I tend to just massage it out if I get one and it sorts it for me. Never had one on my left side.