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brittamac
Mar 18, 2004, 6:34 PM
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I travel a lot, and running is my preferred method of keeping myself from turning into a plump, pear-shaped mother of two. :wink:
Anyway, every couple of years I go through a period where I get a stitch in my side that I can't run through, and I'm in one of them right now.
Here's some background: I run 5-8k 3-4x a week at an 8.0 pace on pavement, a slower pace on trails. The stitch is always on my right side, and appears only when I am street running, never on the trails. There's a section in The Runner's Handbook about this and I've tried longer warm-ups, making sure I come down on my left foot when I exhale, a dramatically slower pace when the stitch appears, all to no avail. I carry some water on hot days, but only wear my camelback on trail runs.
Does anyone have some suggestions, either mental or physical to help me out of this? Any thoughts on other core-strengthening work - should I do this before or save it for after the run? It seems to be such a self-fulfilling prophecy, the more I think about the stitch, the more I'm certain it will happen, the more it does. Ugh!!! :evil:
Your thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!
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roc-dude
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Mar 19, 2004, 4:02 PM
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I have always been told that stitiches were from not getting enough air. breathing. But there is some more and new info about your liver and breathing.
Here are some links:
http://www.coolrunning.com/forums/Forum11/HTML/002899.shtml
http://www.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/stitch.HTM
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radarge
Mar 19, 2004, 4:44 PM
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The "stitch" you're talking about is caused by an in-balance b/t oxygen demand and oxygen availabilty. Your excersing muscles require more oxygen fuel than is being met by your local circulation to that area. In a sense, it's like claudication (in your case most likely not caused by atherosclerosis) or angina. Unfortunately rest or perhaps slowing your pace, causing your muscles metabolism to return toward baseline oxygen needs, should relieve the pain. Rubbing the muscle causes increase blood flow to that area and proper hydration will ensure optimal blood flow (decreased viscosity/improved rhealogical properties of blood). These stitches tend to happen early in a run for most people because the heart hasn't been able to increase cardiac output and therefore oxygen delivery due to decreased venous return (your blood vessels in your muscles dilate so blood pulls there thus decreasing your SVR); but this usually resolves after a staedy pace has been found.
W/ all this said, if the pain is not relieved w/ rest then you might have a tear/pull of that muscle. And this takes a particuliar long time to heal since it sounds like it's one of your core muscles. If this is the case, rest, heat, message and NSAIDS might be the best course.
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brittamac
Mar 22, 2004, 2:07 PM
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Thanks to both of you for the information, after reading the articles, I also remembered that I recently reversed my route, primarily to "take advantage" of a really steep hill down at the beginning of the run, and avoid the same really steep hill up at the very end of my run... but given what I read, it sounds like that might actually be part of the problem- I reversed again this weekend and went back to the old direction, and ran without incident.
redarge, I also have been nursing a pulled muscle on that side, although I didn't think originally that it was part of the problem. Its farther to the side than where the stich is, but maybe its related. :(
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b_fost
Mar 24, 2004, 1:24 AM
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yay running is great.
to avoid stitches, get a nice long warm up before you set out (althought for 5k at an 8.0 pace you shouldn't need that much..no offense) and don't drink lots of fluids right before you go out....do it gradually in the hours before you go.
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petro
Mar 24, 2004, 1:38 AM
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I had a recurring stitch in my right side that plagued me forever, and I couldn't run through it...
I consider myself out of shape, but compare myself to my girlfriend who riteously competes in races from 5k to marathon, and has even won a few.
My final solution (other than overdosing on water the night before, which helps keep things flowing), was to relax my breathing, and let it just happen more than forcing it. In fact, the more I relax my upper body, the better it is. While I'm running, I go through this mental checklist:
Am I breathing too heavy? O.K. relax.
Am I keeping my shoulders too tight? O.K. relax.
Are my abs too tight? O.K. relax.
Etc...
Then I go back into the zone, until something dosen't feel right, then I go back through the checklist.
Not like I'm a kinesiologist (sp?) though, it just works for me.
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brittamac
Mar 24, 2004, 1:49 PM
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In reply to: ...(althought for 5k at an 8.0 pace you shouldn't need that much..no offense)
None taken! That's the whole point - I'm not running extremely fast, and so I'm surprised at how this dang stitch won't go away... I also agree with the hydration suggestions and the warm up - So far this week eliminating the pounding downhill at the start of the run has helped, so I'm hoping that the route change, combined with the inner voice (breathe......) should help!
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vertical_reality
Mar 24, 2004, 2:06 PM
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This probably won't help but when I get a stitch I kinda squeeze my ribs and massage the area for a few seconds while taking deep breaths, it seems to help.
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mattdog
Mar 24, 2004, 2:27 PM
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This will sounds crazy, but I get stiches on both sides, so in order to make them go away, I bend over a bit and breath deeply through my nose. When you breath through your mouth, your nose doesn't have a chance to humidify the air. I find it helps mine go away.
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rltodd00
Mar 24, 2004, 3:12 PM
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When you say you cant run through it, are you keeping the same pace and just trying to keep going until it goes away?
When I used to run, I noticed when I got a stitch in my side it is because my pace was usually too slow and if I opened my stride a bit and picked up the pace a little (i'm not saying sprint just go a little faster) it would away. It worked for me maybe it will work for you as well.
Rob
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anfbymyrock
Mar 24, 2004, 3:25 PM
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My cross-country coach once gave me this tip:
Breathe out for 4 counts, breathe in for 2.
I don't know if this actually helps the stitch physically, or if you mentally stop feeling the pain because you are concentrating so much on breathing, but this ALWAYS works for me...
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brittamac
Mar 30, 2004, 3:44 PM
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In reply to: When you say you cant run through it, are you keeping the same pace and just trying to keep going until it goes away? When I used to run, I noticed when I got a stitch in my side it is because my pace was usually too slow and if I opened my stride a bit and picked up the pace a little (i'm not saying sprint just go a little faster) it would away. It worked for me maybe it will work for you as well. Rob
ooo! mentally I want to slow down -- maybe I should try to pick up the pace a little :D and focus on the breathing - I think breathing through your nose, as some have suggested, probably exaggerates the lift you get from your diaphragm, which I think is a culprit.
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