What Causes a Side Stitch and How to Relieve Them

It has happened to everyone who is physically active. You're jogging along or simply playing your most favorite outdoor sport, minding your own business, when it starts to creep up on you. That dull pain inside your rib cage quickly develops into a clear, stabbing ache with every single breath of air. It is undoubtedly the dreaded side stitch.

Whenever I was younger I just believed I got them because I was exerting myself and that I could push through the pain and achieve a higher fitness level. As it turns out, ones physical fitness has got hardly anything to do with getting a side stitch.

A side stitch is due to spasms of the diaphragm, the chief muscle associated with respiration. There are numerous theories about what leads to these kinds of muscle spasms. The most frequently offered cause is when you are jogging or exerting yourself, you jostle your bodily organs, most notably your liver. The liver is actually attached to the diaphragm via 2 suspensory ligaments. The jostling due to jogging or exertion may stretch out these ligaments.

Compounding the problem is that runners frequently breath in a pattern, meaning that they exhale and breathe in a predictable pace. If the jogger exhales when their right foot hits the ground, this causes their diaphragm to move upward as well as their organs to move lower, elongating the suspensory ligaments causing a side stitch.

The most effective remedy is really an ounce of prevention. Warm your muscles before exercising. Lift up your right arm and also lean to the left. Hold for half a minute, release, after that stretch the other side. Stay clear of shallow breathing. Preferably, you should belly breath while running. This allows the diaphragm to fully lower and reduces stress on it. Additionally, try exhaling when your left foot hits the ground as opposed to your right.

Several other steps will be to time meals prior to working out so that you have enough time for digestion of food. Make sure you stay hydrated before a jog. Don’t drink down water right before your workout, but sip a glass or two around an hour before.