Side stitches ruining cardio, help/ advice needed!

[99awddsm]

For the last four weeks I've had the misfortune of dealing with side stitches EVERY night I run. Occurs only when jogging on a treadmill and usually occurs 10-15min into my jog or run- I would consider intensity to be moderate. I've been running/ jogging for almost a full year now and have been making incredible strides from where I began.

Seriously it's starting to piss me off beyond belief the pain is incredible and obviously cardio is a huge part of weight loss and cutting and these cramps are ruining my cardio and ambition to become a faster/ better runner!

Please Help!

Thanks

[ChrisJames1989]

well...I heard.."heard"....that the pain is due to one of your organs rubbing up against the wall of your stomach which creates the pain "correct me if I'm wrong"

but theres not much you can do I think...I mean the more you run the less it will happen...but when it does stop for like 3-5 minutes and which ever side is in pain rub up and down on it and the pain should ease..but running right after that will just make it come back

so rub for 3-5 minutes and maybe take a break for 5-10 mins after rubbing

[99awddsm]

No you are correct the pain is from your liver rubbing against I believe your stomach (largest organ on right side- happens mostly on right side), and google searching yields very poor answers for prevention.

[marblehead]

I am an avid runner and cross country coach so I have a bit of knowledge on this.

It does hase alittle to do with the organs bouncing around.
However not breathing deep enough is also a big cause of the side stitch pain.

If you are starting to get a side stitch you can take deeper breaths and exhale forcefully.
Kinda like you are blowing up a balloon.
Long forcefully exhale.

[SHIFT_Pump]

In my experience it's ALWAYS happened if I drink too much water prior to running. If I take only a few sips before running I won't get the side stitches (and I've had them pretty bad before). So if you drink a lot of water before you run, try going on just a few sips before you run to see if that helps.

[nev3r]

Truth is, nobody knows exactly what the hell that stitching pain is. Eating or drinking too much before jogging can make it worse because it makes your stomach heavier.

It's thought to be the connective tissues that link your organs to the walls of your inside.

I had to do a TON of research on this because it was big problem for me. The solution? Fix your breathing. Most exhale when their left foot strikes the ground. The minority of runners to exhale when their right foot strikes the ground are more likely to complain of pains.

It worked for me. The MOMENT you feel it hurting, change your breathing up. Work on a 2:1 tempo.

[user654415165]

My friend who is a runner gave me two tips that fixed my side stitch issue permanently. He told me to stand up perfectly straight when I run, and to move my hands straight back and forth instead of across my body. I don't know which one alleviated the issue but they both improved my running and got of that nasty side pain.