Stitches & under rib pain from running

xcmum

I've been running for nearly a year now. When i started i use to get the side stitches and then they went away.

The last week every time i run i'm getting a stitch under my left hand side rib cage. Yesterday it was so bad i couldn't even walk let alone run. Today i can feel pain in the same place like the muscles pulling.

The only thing that has changed within the last 3 weeks is that i have been doing a hill run & intervals on flat once each per week.

The distance is no where near what i'd do training for Half Marathons so i don't know maybe its just the intensity and change in routine.

I'm just worried because i have a race in 6 days and i don't wanna get a stitch or this pain while i'm racing. Any quick tips anyone?

julialdr

bump

xcmum

Yep so i ended up getting a stitch in the race at 8km in.. Running downhill but on the opposite then i have been getting it on. Today my higher abs feel sore. Weak core?

Tribesmama

I was going to post about this. Iv only been running a month and a bit and for the first week (when i cldnt run past 2mins) i wld get stitch under right rib. It went away after a week and i just put it down to unfit. Today i went out for my interval run (1.5 m) for speed and stitch appeared as soon as i lengthened my stride.
Im beginning to think its an adjustment to new thing, il b going out again 2moro to try it again,
I WILL BEAT THE STITCH lol

perfectflightisbeingthere

Stitches seem to be a highly personal things and to come and go for all sorts of reason. A tip in the UK edition of Runners' World a couple of months ago (sorry, I couldn't find a link to the article online) suggested focussing on your breathing. Seemingly most of us seem to breath out as one foot or the other strikes the ground (e.g. I exhale naturally on every third right foot strike when running at a relaxed pace), and as I understood it the article suggested that if you always exhale on one side this can put stresses on one side of the diaphragm that lead to a stitch. They suggested timing you breathing to exhale on alternate sides to reduce the chances of getting a stitch or to help stop one developing if you feel it coming on. I can't comment on whether this has any physiological foundation and it may just be that the concentrating on breathing helps, but I've found this useful on a number of occasions.

TigerBite

Stiches are often cause by improper breathing (and hyperventilating) ... You have to breath with your stride ...

Mr_Knight

They suggested timing you breathing to exhale on alternate sides to reduce the chances of getting a stitch or to help stop one developing if you feel it coming on. I can't comment on whether this has any physiological foundation and it may just be that the concentrating on breathing helps, but I've found this useful on a number of occasions.

I had not heard that before, but I have to confess, it fits with my experience. At "normal" pace, I have a six-step breathing cycle, so every third step is an inhale or exhale, so they constantly alternate between feet. At "fast" pace, I have a four-step breathing cycle, so inhale always happens on the same footfall. And it's only at "fast" pace that I get the stitch.

autumnblade75

I must've read a similar article. The recommendation was to inhale for 3 beats, exhale for 2. There was more information about why the longer interval for inhalation, but I don't recall. I do know that I find it easier to exhale for the longer interval - but the reasoning must have been compelling, because I have tried to do it their way. My best compromise is to breathe in and out for equal intervals, but after every 5th cycle or so, breathe in for 1 extra foot strike. That offsets the dominant side on a regular basis.

autumnblade75

They suggested timing you breathing to exhale on alternate sides to reduce the chances of getting a stitch or to help stop one developing if you feel it coming on. I can't comment on whether this has any physiological foundation and it may just be that the concentrating on breathing helps, but I've found this useful on a number of occasions.

I had not heard that before, but I have to confess, it fits with my experience. At "normal" pace, I have a six-step breathing cycle, so every third step is an inhale or exhale, so they constantly alternate between feet. At "fast" pace, I have a four-step breathing cycle, so inhale always happens on the same footfall. And it's only at "fast" pace that I get the stitch.

6 strides would still have you always inhaling on the same foot. You need an odd number to make sure you're switching it up. Exertion must also play a role.

jimmmer

I used to get it if I'd eaten within 2hrs before a run.

Have you changed your schedule recently so that you are running closer to a prior mealtime?

RunBrew

I had a friendly debate over this very thing with a professor a few months ago. He has a PhD in Exercise Physiology, is an accomplished triathlete, and former coach of the only American Triathlete to ever medal at the Olympics. His view is that there is likely a wide range of factors that go into the causing of a 'side stitch' and to date, there is no conclusive evidence to point to a typical cause.
If he says that 'science can't answer why', I'm inclined to believe him.

It is my own personal opinion, based on research he suggested, and some conclusions I've jumped to (hah) that for most people, who are otherwise structurally normal, most side stitches are the result of a spasm in the diaphragm, due to blunt trauma from heavy organs, either the liver, or a full stomach below, or the lungs from above and them collectively impacting the diaphragm due to a cadence that is out of normal limits for the person.
For the record, this professor heard my hypothesis, shrugged and said "Anything is possible, that probably causes a few stitches, but I'm not sure that's a viable general explanation any more than anything else proposed"

Here's a meta-study that investigates a bunch of possibilities other than mine:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2796944/

Chriswind

I had similar problems with running. I started chewing gum while running and it has helped. I know it sound weird but it helped me with my breathing.