Stitch

A stitch is a sharp pain felt just under your ribs.It commonly occurs when running and can be painful. It is thought to happen due to inadequate oxygen supply to the muscles involved with breathing, the diaphragm and intercostals.It could also be connected to what you have eaten or drank in the past 24 hours to running, or eating just prior to running.

If you suffer from stitches, slow down, but don't stop, as it will only start again when you start to run again. Try pushing your fingers into the area where the pain is or pinching the area.

The way you breathe can help as well. Runners tend to take short, sharp breaths, try taking deep breaths when you get a stitch and exhale through pursed lips (as if blowing out birthday candles). Take note of which way the wind is blowing on your run, sometimes when we run into a head wind we tend to swallow air as well as breathing it and that can cause a pain in the belly. To prevent this try running with your teeth closed but your lips open and be aware of breathing the air through your nose and exhaling it forcefully through your mouth. It is common practice to exhale when our right foot hits the ground and often stitches occur in the right side, because the force is greater through the right side, try changing the side you exhale on. i.e. exhale when your left foot contacts the ground and see if this improves it.

The new way to breath is belly breathing, this technique is practised though yoga, it just means breathing deep into your stomach and not just using your lungs, this can help with preventing stitches

Diet can cause stitches as well, try not to drink too much just before you start a run, have a drink about 30mins before and just sip your drink, don't skull. It's often not we you eat the hour before you run that causes a stitch it can be what you ate the day before. A greasy feed 24hours before you run can cause a stitch..fat in our diet takes the longest to burn and it can still be hanging around 24hours later, ready to strike out when you run.