Recurring stitch on the bike, any tips?

joker77

I'm getting a stitch while on the bike at the moment, it's now 4 times it's happened in the past month (in the few years I've been cycling - I don't think I've ever gotten a stitch on the bike before).

It's in the usual place, right hand side - from reading up this is where they usually occur due to the position of the liver (largest organ in abdominal cavity).

The first time is was severe, was during a club race and was really pushing it, tried to push through but it got worse and worse until I had to stop, was doubled over for a few minutes until it subsided - easily the worst stitch I've ever had, thought I'd tore something until it eventually subsided.

So - it's happened three times since then - the first two I stopped before it got too bad. Last night in another club race I felt it coming on - and decided to see if I could get through it - I controlled my breathing and sat in for a while, and it subsided and was gone completely, but it's concerning me now how regularly it's happening. I've tried to watch better what I'm eating / drinking beforehand - but to no avail.

Just wondering has anyone else suffered from this, any tips?

dermur

joker77 wrote: »

I've tried to watch better what I'm eating / drinking beforehand - but to no avail.

How long beforehand would you normally eat? Two hours? Anything less could potentially give me a stitch anyway.

Lumen

I don't suffer from it often enough to have a strategy, but I've read that shallow breathing can cause it and deep breathing can cure it.

joker77

dermur wrote: »

How long beforehand would you normally eat? Two hours? Anything less could potentially give me a stitch anyway.

The first time I got it, it was at least 2 hours yea.

As I said, since then I've made an extra effort to be careful about what I eat beforehand, but maybe I just need to work on that more

dooverylittle

joker77 wrote: »

I'm getting a stitch while on the bike at the moment, it's now 4 times it's happened in the past month (in the few years I've been cycling - I don't think I've ever gotten a stitch on the bike before).

It's in the usual place, right hand side - from reading up this is where they usually occur due to the position of the liver (largest organ in abdominal cavity).

The first time is was severe, was during a club race and was really pushing it, tried to push through but it got worse and worse until I had to stop, was doubled over for a few minutes until it subsided - easily the worst stitch I've ever had, thought I'd tore something until it eventually subsided.

So - it's happened three times since then - the first two I stopped before it got too bad. Last night in another club race I felt it coming on - and decided to see if I could get through it - I controlled my breathing and sat in for a while, and it subsided and was gone completely, but it's concerning me now how regularly it's happening. I've tried to watch better what I'm eating / drinking beforehand - but to no avail.

Just wondering has anyone else suffered from this, any tips?

I have exactly the same issue, I have had it on and off now for about 3 years. Over that period i have had various theorys, and read every aritcle on stitchs I could find. I currently believe it is related to shortening my breathing in hard efforts resulting in overworking the diaphram. I try to maintain good posture(I have a tendancy to slump when i am on the rivet) and breath as deeply as possible. This helps I think, but as you described I can sometimes finish a race bent over in pain.
:mad:

doozerie

As regards deep breathing, have you tried abdominal breathing? I first encountered this in martial arts but I believe it's essentially the same breathing that the likes of opera singers practice and perhaps it is even encouraged in various sports too. I believe it's also how babies breath until they start to grow up into the stiff lumbering adults that many of us tend to become.

Whether it would help against stitches I don't know but it's certainly an effective method of achieving deep breathing in my experience so if deep breathing helps against stitches then it's another avenue to consider/explore. I've heard it said that it can take 6 months or so of practicing it before it becomes automatic and that wouldn't be far off my own experience of it, though I'd say it can become automatic in less time than that. Some of the text on that wiki page above focuses on its use in meditation but once it becomes natural you'll find you just breathe that way without thinking about it.

Hmmzis

Do you get the stiches when running, too? Especialy on a tougher run (lots of up and downs or going for your 3k pb). Or is it only on the bike?

If it happens also while running then the advice on breathing exercises might help a good bit. Martial arts helped a lot in this regard.

If it's only on the bike it might be worth double checking the position you are in when on it. The last time I got stiches was on a road bike that's too small for me so I ended up in a rather compacted position when using drops putting too much presure on the diafragm.

joker77

Hmmzis wrote: »

Do you get the stiches when running, too? Especialy on a tougher run (lots of up and downs or going for your 3k pb). Or is it only on the bike?

If it happens also while running then the advice on breathing exercises might help a good bit. Martial arts helped a lot in this regard.

If it's only on the bike it might be worth double checking the position you are in when on it. The last time I got stiches was on a road bike that's too small for me so I ended up in a rather compacted position when using drops putting too much presure on the diafragm.

Haven't been running in a while.

I have the bike 3 years now, this is the second year racing, so wouldn't have thought it was position.

squeaky crank

A marathon runner told me that a lot of running stitches occur from repetition i.e: you might breath in when your light food is grounded and breath out when your left leg is down or vis versa - anyhow - the point was that after a while time this pattern would cause a stitch.
So he told me to change the breathing pattern for a few minutes if I felt a stitch coming on - and it worked for me.

Maybe the same principle applies with your cadence. Its an easy theory to try out

S

squeaky crank

[QUOTE=right foot is grounded and breath out when your left leg is down or vis versa [/QUOTE]

sorry I fixed that -

Hungrycol

I never got a stitch on the bike until the last two races in the last week! Been a long time since I felt one and it was like "well hello stranger, where have you been hiding?!"

They were'nt cripplingly bad and they were gone as quickly as they came. I was concerned when they came on cos it effects performance esp in a race but I sat up a wee bit and tried to relax and I don't remember it going (Shut up stitch I'm too busy dealing with leg pain right now!). Last two races though I have been killing myself so breathing could have been a big factor.

furiousox

I used to get stitches very often on the bike, nearly on every spin.
I have an espresso now before I go out instead of a mug of coffee and wouldn't eat any more than a slice of toast and a banana for breakfast.
I'm also using bottled water instead of tap water to make my energy drinks.
(We have a water softener at home, I've often wondered if the treated water was a factor?)
Anyway, since making these two changes I haven't had any more stitches.