How runners can avoid stitches
It’s the moment every athlete dreads: that stabbing pain below the ribs that signals a stitch.
For long-distance runners, getting a stitch at the wrong time can scupper their race plan.
If you’re unlucky enough to suffer a stitch while running, there are a couple of things you can do to lessen the pain, according to Ruediger Reer, a professor in sports medicine in Germany.
The first is easy: slow down. Next, try to breathe deeply and regularly, so you have the feeling your stomach is pulling in the air.
“If you try to reduce strain on the diaphraghm, you seem to gain respite,” Reer says.
“If the pain doesn’t let up, you should walk instead of jog in order to further reduce the burden on the diaphragm and abdomen.”
But avoiding stitches altogether is really the goal.
Reer recommends regulating your breathing from the beginning of your run, breathing in and out once every three steps.
Eating before running should be avoided – if you absolutely MUST eat, then a snack like a banana is more than enough.
This means that your body can focus all its energy on keeping you going during your run rather than digesting that super-sized kebab you chowed down beforehand.
Regularly running in this way improves your stamina, which again cuts down on the risk of stitches, although no one has ever proved conclusively exactly what causes them.
“There are various theories, none of which has been 100% proven,” Reer says.
One theory is that when the body is under stress, blood flows too quickly out of the liver and spleen, causing a stitch.
Another is that the stress causes the spleen to swell with blood, with the consequent strain on the surrounding peritoneum causing the pain.
Yet another theory is that breathing plays the decisive role: the sustained stress and quick, deep breaths cause the diaphragm to be overworked, resulting in a lack of oxygen, which causes the stitch.
Yet another idea is that a crooked posture is the culprit, as excess pressure is placed upon the abdominal cavity. — dpa