Runners Stitch

[Aramus]

If you run you may have encountered pain in your side for...some unknown reason. I ran across an article that may provide helpful information...
What is a stitch? (short answer...they don't know).
There are two competing hypotheses of stitches, and both involve the diaphragm--the dome-like muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. One theory suggests that the jarring movements of vigorous exercise can cause stress on the ligaments that hold the diaphragm muscle in place. The "blood flow theory" proposes that oxygenated blood is directed away from the diaphragm either for digestion or to nourish working muscles during intense exercise, thereby causing pain in the oxygen-starved area of the diaphragm.


What do you do once you get one...
However, four maneuvers designed to relieve pain from tugging of the ligaments on the diaphragm proved successful:
1) bending forward and tightening abdominal muscles,
2) inhaling more air,
3) exhaling through pursed lips, and
4) tightening a belt around the abdomen.

Survey says:
The researchers concluded that stitches probably arise when a fluid-engorged gut tugs on visceral ligaments. If this is true, the most important preventive measure is to avoid food and drink for a significant period before exercise. Training the respiratory muscles through "belly breathing," where the abdomen rises and lowers during deep breathing, may help as well.

Hope this helps....

"12 pains of christmas....RIGGING UP THE LIGHTS"

[David]

Certain foods are implicated in stitches. Crisps (American="potato chips") are the worst. After that I think pork was second.

I drink like a fish before a run because I don't carry any water with me and want to keep my fluids topped up best I can. If water was a factor I'd get a stitch every time and I've only had 1 or 2 stitches this year.

The powers of Kung Fu never fail!
-- Hong Kong Phooey

[Aramus]

There is a study that was done...it is a small study with a small sample. I haven't had a stitch in a few years. I drink water before running, and I haven't had a stitch either. I drink water and then warm up and then run. This seems to work for me, but everyone is different


In one of the few studies on side stitches, researchers in New Zealand had 10 college students run a short course five separate times: once without having consumed any liquid beforehand, and four times immediately after consuming one of four drinks: water, a Gatorade-like solution, a cola, or a non-absorbable lactulose (milk sugar) solution. All four liquids produced stitches of similar intensity during the first two runs. Stitch pain declined only with the Gatorade-like solution and by the last two courses, the minimal stitch-producing effects of this liquid was similar to running after ingesting no fluid.

The subjects reported the location and intensity of stitch pain, and then were selected at random to try several physical maneuvers to relieve the pain. Neither relaxing the abdominal muscles nor increasing the impact of foot strikes had any effect.

[Ish]

i find i only get a stitch when i don't breath properly. as in breathing to fast, when i feel that i'm getting a stitch i try to slow my breathing down and relax more and usually it goes away.
Could be just me.

[halfling]

I thought stitches had to do with lactic acid out pouring???

[meltdawn]

I've been jumping horses for 20 years. In that discipline, it is common knowledge that you WILL get a stitch if you hold your breath at any time during exertion. Example: a person is doing a course of relaively high, intimidating fences, so he unconciously holds his breath during anxious moments. Result: stitch.

Since I learned this early on, and took it as simple truth, I have observed other people practicing other disciplines and getting stitches for the same reason. My master's kid takes swimming lessons. During the first few weeks he began the crawl, his breathing was not correct. He had a stitch after every class that would last days.

I'm not a doctor (but I play one on TV) yet my explanation would be that he body needs oxygen, and when you don't allow it to get it, the diaphram stresses/strains and pain results. Always concentrate on your breathing.

"Waiting is bad." - Musashi
www.lungyingjingjung.com (http://www.lungyingjingjung.com)