Nacnud
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Sometimes I get this thing called a 'stitch' when running.
These things are an absolute pain in the arse!
In case you don't know what these are, i'll explain. Sometimes, as you run, a sharp pain might occur in your lower abdomen, below your stomach and liver. It hurts a lot, especially if you choose to ignore it like i did this morning and keep running. The reason why this injury occurs has nothing to do with your aerobic fitness at all, or the amount of oxygen you inhale. In fact, very fit healthy olympic standard runners even get these from time to time.
Its all to do with your abdominal (belly) muscles. As you run, your liver, stomach, and lungs are moving up...down...up...down. Because your diaphragm is directly below these organs, it takes the brunt. Your organs are effectively treating your diaphragm like a trampoline. They bounce off your diaphragm, then gravity makes it go back down... then it bounces off again, and keeps going. This is strenuous on the diaphragm, and, depending on your abdominal muscle strength, it starts to ache and hurt in a some time.
This pain is one of the symptoms of a stitch.
Of course, you can grit your teeth and choose to ignore the pain like I did earlier. But it won't go away until you stop. It is not something that needs a little time as you get used to the pace you are running at. It will stay with you until you stop. Also, if you really keep at it, your diaphragm could potentially rip I suppose, and I don't really need to tell you how much that would hurt.
The solution:
Get a six pack. Make your belly muscles very strong. Your belly muscles are what keeps your diaphragm rigid and actually hold those organs above it in place. Make the muscles stronger, and your diaphragm will be able to take more beating and abuse from the weight of the organs above it. So, in other words, do lots and lots of sit ups. This probably why the sit ups are so important, imagine getting a stitch before the 3 miler or endurance march!
Remember, sit ups + a healthy, nutritious diet + time = strong abdominal muscles.
Also, eating a lot before running will add weight to your stomach, and make it bigger as well. This will only make the stitch come faster!
Good luck, and hopefully this advice will come in handy for some!
These things are an absolute pain in the arse!
In case you don't know what these are, i'll explain. Sometimes, as you run, a sharp pain might occur in your lower abdomen, below your stomach and liver. It hurts a lot, especially if you choose to ignore it like i did this morning and keep running. The reason why this injury occurs has nothing to do with your aerobic fitness at all, or the amount of oxygen you inhale. In fact, very fit healthy olympic standard runners even get these from time to time.
Its all to do with your abdominal (belly) muscles. As you run, your liver, stomach, and lungs are moving up...down...up...down. Because your diaphragm is directly below these organs, it takes the brunt. Your organs are effectively treating your diaphragm like a trampoline. They bounce off your diaphragm, then gravity makes it go back down... then it bounces off again, and keeps going. This is strenuous on the diaphragm, and, depending on your abdominal muscle strength, it starts to ache and hurt in a some time.
This pain is one of the symptoms of a stitch.
Of course, you can grit your teeth and choose to ignore the pain like I did earlier. But it won't go away until you stop. It is not something that needs a little time as you get used to the pace you are running at. It will stay with you until you stop. Also, if you really keep at it, your diaphragm could potentially rip I suppose, and I don't really need to tell you how much that would hurt.
The solution:
Get a six pack. Make your belly muscles very strong. Your belly muscles are what keeps your diaphragm rigid and actually hold those organs above it in place. Make the muscles stronger, and your diaphragm will be able to take more beating and abuse from the weight of the organs above it. So, in other words, do lots and lots of sit ups. This probably why the sit ups are so important, imagine getting a stitch before the 3 miler or endurance march!
Remember, sit ups + a healthy, nutritious diet + time = strong abdominal muscles.
Also, eating a lot before running will add weight to your stomach, and make it bigger as well. This will only make the stitch come faster!
Good luck, and hopefully this advice will come in handy for some!
