Tips to prevent/ease side stitches

Mink

I tend to get side stitches at some point during my daily runs & they are very annoying.
I stop drinking fluids 1hr to 30 mins before my run, I would have last eaten 2-3hrs before the run & it would be a light meal. I do a quick warm up beforehand & do stretches afterward.

Any tips on preventing them (I don't even know what causes them to be honest) & how to get rid of them fast when they come up during a run, would be appreciated.

Cartman78

Not 100% sure but I think you should be able to overcome this via a deep breathing technique. I'm sure someone will be along soon with a more detailed and informed response

connie_c

I dont know any of the medical stuff either but am a fellow sufferer. Long slow breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth that really fill my lungs early in my run, say the first 5 mins tends to sort me out.

I dont know if this is true but it feels like Im warming my lungs up in a similar way to warming up my legs.

If I get one later in a run which is getting rare i slow right down and repeat the breathing.

Recently I get stiches when i get up in the morning and walk briskly to my bus stop. My breathing warm up is now something i seem to do a few times a day.

This may be all mumbo jumbo but it seems to work for me.

Mink

Thanks for the replies. Last night got stitch again & tried breathing deeply & running through it & seemed to ease it much faster.
Generally tried controlling & deepening my breaths & I think it's working.

bcpk

check on the runnersworld website, forums. I had similar issues and some people recommended doing more sit-ups and also exhaling when your right foot hits the ground, or something like that

entropi

connie_c wrote: »

I dont know any of the medical stuff either but am a fellow sufferer. Long slow breaths in through my nose and out through my mouth that really fill my lungs early in my run, say the first 5 mins tends to sort me out.

I dont know if this is true but it feels like Im warming my lungs up in a similar way to warming up my legs.

Getting a "stitch" is actually the muscles that help your chest expand and contract for breathing (intercostals) going into a small spasm giving you slight pain and irregular breathing patterns. As hinted at above, the remedy is performing long, deep breaths through the nose or preferably the mouth to help bring along a regular pattern and relieve what is known as oxygen debt:)

In addition to this, i'll add that it is worth drinking up to 500ml of water an hour before exercising, it will help with hydration and that dry mouth us runners seem to suffer from too!

Hopefully this info will help some of you guys/gals:)

Vinny Mulvey

Got this recently off the net:

A "side stitch" is a sharp, intense pain under the lower edge of the ribcage caused by a muscle spasm of the diaphragm. Such pain can occur during vigorous exercise, such as running, and seems to occur more commonly in novice exercisers who have not yet established proper pacing and who tend to breathe more quickly and shallow. However, about 30% of all runners will experience stitches at some point. What exactly causes them? On inhalation, we take air into the lungs, pressing the diaphragm downward. When we exhale, the diaphragm moves up. If the body has some trapped air/gas below the diaphragm, if we've eaten too close to exercise, or if we start exercising too vigorously, the diaphragm may cramp, causing pain under the rib cage on the right side.

As with any muscle cramp, the best immediate treatment is to try to stretch the cramping muscle as much as possible. How do you get to the diaphragm on the inside of your body?, Try altering your breathing pattern. Take a deep breath in as quickly as you can, to force the diaphragm down. Hold the breath for a couple of seconds and then forcibly exhale through pursed lips to restrict the outward air flow. You may also find that bending forward can help you expel as much air as possible. I have actually found that stretching up as tall as I could, even to the point of extending arms up over head, then alternating crouch-tall and tightening/flexing the abs, helped as well. You may even have to stop and walk briskly for a few seconds while concentrating on deep breathing. Continue running after the stitch goes away. If you get a cramp in the middle of a race, you might want to try mixing up your rhythmic breathing/ striding pattern. If you always exhale when your right foot strikes the ground, try exhaling with the left foot strike. Believe it or not, according to Dr. Quick, the organs attached to the diaphragm on the left side of the body aren't quite as big as those on the right side, hence there is less strain on the diaphragm. Another technique that may work for some is peaceful visualization--if you are feeling stressed from the day or race, try imagining you are elsewhere, and take deep calming breaths as you run.

The most effective way to prevent a side stitch is to take deep, full "belly breaths" while running. This will allow the diaphragm to fully lower and reduces the stress on it. If you take a lot of shallow breaths when running, the diaphragm remains in a consistently high position and never lowers enough to allow the connective ligaments of the liver to relax. The diaphragm becomes stressed and a "stitch" may result. Another way to prevent stitches is to make sure you include a warm-up that helps you gradually increase your running speed. If you head out in an all-out dash from the front door, you're more likely to take quick, short, shallow breaths, inducing a cramp.

Running downhill increases the forces exerted on the entire body with each foot strike and may induce side stitches, especially if you are nervous (for whatever reason) about running downhill to begin with! Try walking or slowly jogging down any steep hills until you have mastered deep breathing techniques.
If you tend to suffer from side stitches, try to avoid eating within 1 hour of running. Water or gatorade is fine within an hour -- liquid empties from the stomach faster than solids and shouldn't cause any problems.
Running in extreme cold temperatures may induce side stitches, as it's less comfortable to take in deep lungs full of frigid air until you're thoroughly warmed up. Try doing some sort of warmup indoors first, before hitting the icy city streets.
Strengthening the abdominal and lower back (core) muscles can help prevent stitches since tighter muscles in the mid-section will allow less movement of those internal organs. Happy running!

Mink

Thanks VinnieMulvey.
That's really good advice. Also explains why I always get them on the right hand side!