Side stitches!

There is nothing worse than feeling the runner’s high and all of a sudden, you have to stop dead in your tracks. This happened to me in a 5K race…one where I was to get a new personal record. I felt a really sharp pain in my side that only got worse the more I ran. Walking allowed me to feel some relief, but as soon as I started running again, the pain was back within seconds. It turns out that this pain was a side stitch, a muscle spasm of the diaphragm. Has this ever happened to you? If so, here are some tips on how to alleviate pain and prevent future side stitches.

Okay, so you have a side stitch, but how do you get rid of it? Here are a few suggestions that you could try for relief.

1.) When you first feel a side stitch coming on, stop running and breathe deeply. While breathing in deeply, apply pressure with your fingers to the area of discomfort.

2.) Try stretching out your side. If your side stitch is on the right, raise your right arm and lean towards the left.

Nobody wants a side stitch. And you’re definitely going to want to prevent them in the future after knowing how awful they feel. Here are a few suggestions that you could try for prevention.

1.) Avoid eating 1-2 hours before running.

2.) Increase your water intake throughout the day.

3.) Warm up before running fast and hard.

4.) Strength your diaphragm.

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20. thelongwalkback said: yeah, I get these a lot! Digging my fingers into the muscle makes it go away for a min or so. Glad to know it IS just muscle cramps and not something worse.
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28. atticus-f1nch reblogged this from fuckyeahfitspiration and added:

    Ah, I get these all the time when I run. Great help :)

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    Ugh, that word makes me feel queasy just looking at it. @_@

33. appledrops reblogged this from fuckyeahfitspiration and added:

    Helpful information. I get side stitches sometimes and they fucking SUCK. I try to make sure I’m warmed up before I...

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    I get these ALLTHE time. Thanks so much for posting this.

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    Thank you! You’ve saved my life!

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