Why do I get cramps on the sides of my stomach when jogging.?

Question

I do not eat or drink anything 2 hours before I run. Sometimes I get the cramps and sometimes I don't. I can't figure out what may be causing them. Am I just out of shape? I have been running about 5 miles a day for a couple of weeks and about twice a week I will get bad cramps. However, they are not so bad that I have to stop and walk, but they are bad enough that I can not increase my pace to that which I desire. I breathe through my mouth only when running, not my nose.

Am I just out of shape? I just recently started running, but I can remember having this problem since I was a child when jogging. I never had this problem when I played soccer or biking.

Will it go away when I am in better shape or what? Some sound advice would be great.
Thanks.

Answer 1

There are a lot of reasons. I stopped running because of those, and my knees, but I did a search and found this on sportsmedicine.com:

Preventing a Side Stitch
To prevent a side stitch, take even, deep breaths while running. Shallow breathing tends to increase the risk of cramping because the diaphragm is always slightly raised and never lowers far enough to allow the ligaments to relax. When this happens the diaphragm becomes stressed and a spasm or "stitch" is more likely.

Some other ways to alleviate the pain of a side stitch include:

* Time your eating. Having food in your stomach during a workout may contribute to cramping by creating more force on the ligaments. Try to avoid eating one to two hours before a workout.
* Stretch more. Stretching is a good additional way to prevent or relieve a cramp. To target this often overlooked muscle, raise your right arm straight up and bend your trunk toward the left. Hold for 30 seconds, release, then stretch the other side.
* Ease up. Sometimes it's as simple as decreasing your intensity until the pain subsides. Try lowering your arms and slowing your pace the next time the pain hits.
* Breathe deeply. This helps to stretch the diaphragm. Some people also find exhaling forcefully when the opposite foot strikes the floor to be helpful. For instance, if the pain is in your left side, exhale forcefully every time you land on your right foot.
* Drink more fluids before exercise. Dehydration can cause muscle cramps.
* Rub it away. Massage or press on the area where you feel pain. You may also want to bend forward slightly. This seems to stretch the diaphragm and ease the pain.
* * If you continue to experience pain, see your doctor.

Answer 2

Those cramps are side stitches and are caused by stretching the ligaments that extend from the diaphragm to the internal organs, especially the liver. The jarring motion of running during breathing in and out stretches these ligaments. Runners tend to exhale every two or four steps. Most people exhale as the left foot hits the ground, but some people exhale when the right foot hits the ground. Exhaling when the right foot hits the ground causes greater forces on the liver. So just as the liver is dropping down the diaphragm raises for the exhalation. It is believed this repeated stretching leads to spasms in the diaphragm. You can stop this cramping while running you know. When this happens, you should stop running and place your hand into the right side of your belly and push up, lifting the liver slightly. Inhale and exhale evenly as you push up.

Answer 3

Dehydration is usually the cause. Drink plenty of water before, during and after working out. You may also be low on potassium, which can cause cramps. During the summer, people get dehydrated much faster and you lose necessary vitamins and minerals rapidly, even w/out exercising. You can replace potassium by eating bananas, or taking a potassium supplement found at just about any store.


Here is some more info with an accompanying links. The 2nd link is specifically for side stitches, which it sounds like you have:

Definition

Exercise-induced muscle cramps are painful spasms that occur during or immediately after activity. During a muscle cramp, the muscle goes into a hard and contracted state that you cannot voluntarily relax. Exercise-induced muscle cramps may well cause an athlete to temporarily stop what they are doing, but cramps generally have no serious long-term consequences.
What causes them?

The exact cause of cramping is still unknown, but there are several factors that are associated with muscle cramps:

* overexertion
* failing to stretch adequately before exercise
* extreme hot or cold
* dehydration
* salt imbalances after sweating
* low blood sugar
------------------------------------

Treating a Side Stitch
Like any other muscle spasm, when a side stitch occurs it is important to stop the activity that brought the stitch on in the first place, or at the very least reduce the intensity of the activity.

Another effective treatment for a side stitch is to alter your breathing pattern. First concentrate on taking full, deep breathes and avoid shallow breathing. Then, if you are one of those people who exhale when your right foot hits the ground, try instead to exhale when your left foot hits the ground.

Preventing a Side Stitch
There are a number of measures that help to prevent side stitch, the main ones being:

* Improve your cardiovascular fitness;
* Concentrate on breathing deeply during exercise;
* Warm up properly before exercising;
* Gradually increase exercise intensity;
* Strengthen your core muscles (lower back, abdominal and oblique muscles);
* Stretch more, especially your lower back and abdominal muscles;
* Avoid eating before exercising; and
* Drink more fluids.

Answer 4

You say that you don't eat or drink for 2 hours before running. Well it's a good idea that you don't eat too soon before running but you should make sure you not only drink a reasonable amount of water before you run but also during your run. This is to ensure that you don't dehydrate during your run. Remember, don't get 'dehydrating' mixed up with the feeling of being thirsty. You may not feel thirsty, you WILL be dehydrated.

If you still have this problem, keep taking on board plenty of fluids (not fizzy) then slow down and force yourself to breath in through your mouth and out of your nose.

I say 'force yourself' because you may find that, for a few minutes, the problem actually gets worse. But stick with it and after a while, the problem should subside.

Hope that helps.

Answer 5

The main cause in cramping is dehydration, try drinking more water before you run and always carry a sports drink with you the faster you replace the electrolites the sooner you will stop cramping. Gatorade is still the best in my opinion.

Answer 6

everyone here is right, they are side stiches. they are nothing big, but can hurt pretty bad when running.

to prevent them try drinking more, streching you abs and obliques, and breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. make sure your breathing is slow, even, and take deep breaths

that wont always work and you will still get some cramps so to get rid of them you can continue to breath in your nose and out your mouth (or start if you havent been) and lift your arm above your head. you can rest them on top of your head or hold them straight up. this streches out your core and helps to get rid of the cramp. if you need to slow down, but try not to walk, because i think that will make it come back as soon as you start running again. ive found that running through it helps because you usually wont get another (unless you are pushing yourself extremely hard like in a race)

Answer 7

does it hurt only when you jog? If you push in the same area before you jog do you feel any pain? I f you feel pain before you jog i would say it is appendix if not then it's a cramp.

Answer 8

You need to bring a bottle of water with you and take a few sips once in a while. Your muscles are hurting because they are being exercised vigorously and they get tired. Make sure to take deep breaths to oxygenate your body properly.

Answer 9

don't worry everyone gets them/practically everyone. it is possible that you're out of shape or even dehydriating. try change your breathing ryhthem like in in out in out in in in out etc. or whatever. Or hold your thumb and squeeze it hard that it kind of akes a little so the pain will go more to your thumb. (pe teacher taught me that and it works.)
and i don`t know if it``ll go away probableey though once you get in really good shape. And STRECH your tummy, you can put your arms straight in the air as high as you can and that works

Answer 10

It could be that your muscle is working too hard and it could be lack of oxygen when you jog. When you jog you are suppose to take deep breath.