Help with stitch...

johnnyrotten123

Hi,

Has anybody out there ever had a problems with getting stitches while you are running? I get one every so often and unlike those which are sore enough but you can run off, this one makes it almost impossible to run with.

The problem is I don't know why it happens; it can happen some days and not others and it can hit me in either side. There is no pattern to it at all as far as I can make out.

If anyone has any tips of either how to prevent it in the first place (preferably) or how to get rid of it when it does occur without wasting too much time - I'd appreciate it.

Thanks

Ger the man

Make sure you are well hydrated and its no harm to slow down to a walking pace until its gone. They usually appear after the first few mins of running and will go if you slow down.

brutes

Can happen with any amount of reasons - eg

Taking gels on route
Eating too close to a run
Drinking too close to a run
Dehydration
Running too hard/fast a pace for your ability level

Possible solutions from experience

Slow down, deep breaths , press hard on area of stitch
Stop and do the same

These may or may not work you may have to abort the run

This happened to me in a marathon this year and it buckled me completely and i had to stop totally and resume slowly -reckon it was down to powerbar gel ....

Tobias Greeshman

Sometimes I find this helps: if you slow down a bit and exhale when the foot of the opposite side of the stitch hits the ground.

I can't remember the exact reason for this, but remember reading it on runnersworld a few months back.

another world

I get stitchs if I drink big a lot in big gulps just before running. I´d recommend drinking but in small amounts beforehand and during. I usually try to get the stitch out of the way in my warm up. It usually kicks in very quickly, so I don´t mind so much if it happens during the warm up.

Mmcd

Tobias Greeshman wrote: »

Sometimes I find this helps: if you slow down a bit and exhale when the foot of the opposite side of the stitch hits the ground.

I can't remember the exact reason for this, but remember reading it on runnersworld a few months back.

Thick fibrous bands called ligaments extend downward from your diaphragm to hold your liver in place. When you run, your liver drops at the exact time that your diaphragm goes up, stretching the ligaments and causing pain. Humans have a fixed pattern of breathing when they run. They have a two to one breathing ratio, breathing once for each two strides. Most people breathe out when the right foot strikes the ground. When you breathe out, your diaphragm goes up, and at the same time, the force of your foot strike causes your liver to go down. This stretches the ligaments that attach the liver to your diaphragm, causing pain. So the cause of a side stitch during hard running is a stretching of the ligaments that hold the liver to the diaphragm and the cure is to relieve the stretching of the ligaments. When you get a stitch, stop running and press your hand deep into your liver to raise it up against your diaphragm. At the same time, purse your lips and blow out against the tightly held lips as hard as you can. Pushing the liver up stops stretching the ligaments. Breathing out hard empties your lungs. The pain is relieved immediately and you can resume running as soon as the pain disappears. The pain usually will not go away unless you stop running long enough to raise your liver.



Basically it depends on what foot you have on the ground when you exhale and to counteract it try and push up your liver which is on your right hand side.