I don't know why or how, but I used to run with a guy that wanted to talk all the time and I always got them. I posted something in another forum and was told that it had to do with my breathing. I was instructed to take long deep breaths, and every since I have started doing that, I have never had a problem with it. This was always a problem with me before.

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Photo Blog - App Trail Thru Hike March - Sept 2009

I dont know what causes them but stopping running doesnt solve them. Just keep running because you really wont feel better if you walk.

stomach breathing. long full expiration usually works.

I read somewhere that side stitches can be caused by too much food or fluid in your stomach. The weight causes the muscles to stretch, causing the stitches. I found that sometimes I get them after I've eaten, and a friend of mine used to insist that she couldn't run on an empty stomach, yet she always got side stitches. Maybe there's some truth to that. I've found that pressing on the stitch sometimes helps, as does sucking in my stomach real hard until the stitch goes away.

I'm jealous to hear of anyone doing a tri this weekend - it was in the 40s this morning when I left for work.

Another person here who has good results with long deep breaths to get the stitches to go away.

On the other hand, trying to just run through them without changing breathing can result in one of those wonderful dry heaves over someone's flower beds events for me.

Here is a link to an article that I found quite helpful in getting to know a little more about the issue.

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/...e/side-stitches.html

this problem has crept up on me a couple of times over the last couple of years, but only when racing never in training. after a lot of research here are some suggestions (in addition to the above recommendations of deep breathing and nutrition) that have worked based upon my own personal experiences.

1. if stitch is on right side of body exhale when left foot hits the ground.

2. combine number one above with clenching your right fist.

3. lots of good core work (very helpful!!)

1 & 2 above can be quick fixes but if i look back the problems have come during years when my core work wasn't what it should have been during the off season- good core work seems to really help this problem. also, really get a feel for what works for you in terms of nutrition; i.e. for me no solid food or caffeine before a race that is olympic distance or shorter. hope this helps. good luck.

I also have a cause for sidestitches:

Drinking redbull + coke without de-fizzing first, 5 minutes before a 45 minute progressive run (start at 8 min/k and descend to 3:30 [nope i didn't make it that fast]).

Double side-stitch attack. Never felt so much pain in my stomach before. You try to press on one side and the other just hurts more.

Deep breathing [and exhaling], and pressing on the cramped area seems to make it dissapear most of the time (redbull+coke caused side-stitch no included).

The tricky part is diagnosis. If it is truly a side stitch then the breathing and other techniques work pretty well. If it is actually a stomach cramp then sometimes there is not much you can do other than slow down until it passes.

When I tried to use Accelerade I would be fine on the bike but my stomach would cramp on the run in a way that felt very similar to a side stitch. None of my normal fixes helped, so I just had to run slow. I tried to train my body to get used to it, but the cramping still happened so I had to change back to a non-protein drink. Some people can handle it, some people can't, but I was surprised at how similar the cramping felt to a stitch.

Inhale fully, then inhale some more so that you're going well over your normal capacity, then exhale fully, and then expell the rest of the air.

repeat about 5 times, this should eliminate it, if not, keep doing it till it does. (essentially, belly breathing)

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"Anyone can work hard when they want to; Champions do it when they don't."

I too used to suffer from the side stitches when I was a teenager but the have since vanished. I never got them skiing, biking or swimming, just seemed to be during running. I am not sure why but for me I do not think it was a core strenght issue as I believe I was stronger then versus now. Maybe for some though.

What always worked for me was to EXPAND my abdomen during exhalation and SUCKING it in during inhalation. It usually worked very quickly for me.

An anatomy instructor told me that they were caused by the spleen dumping extra blood into the system to meet the increased demand. That seemed to correlate with mine being on the left and almost always at the beginning portion. Why not during other activites though?

I do think that you need to differentiate between gas, cramps for whatever reason and side stitches to come to a conclusion.

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A Dr DP Morton is arguing that stitches are "caused by irritation (by friction) of the parietal peritoneum which lines the wall of the abdomen. This lining is sensitive to any torso movement when irritated and, as it extends throughout the abdomen, can give rise to pain in various sites."

As a sufferer myself, I haven't yet checked to see if Morton has any advice about how to cope with them. I do hope so, because I have tried a number of the tactics suggested above, but none with complete success. Linking breathing to footstrikes has helped most, and does work better than belly breathing for me. I have also found stitches a particular problem in triathlons, partly because of the swimming (which seems to screw up my gut) and partly because of the need to take on and process food/drink. In fact it has probably been my biggest performance limiter!

This is going to sound like the home-based cold-remedy thread, but, this is what I was taught, and it has worked every time for me. If you get this malady, and deep inspiration/full expiration doesn't fix it: Stop. Squat down on the ground with your head between your knees (I find keeping your heels on the ground like often seen among tribal folk at the campfire works best.) Look around for the closest rock, slowly pick it up and spit under the rock. Replace the rock exactly as you found it and press the dirt around the edges. Stand up slowly; run on, stitch-free.

It's nothing to do with spitting, or replacing the rock, or patting the ground. It is essentially a way to force yourself to stay tightly squatted down for a sufficient amount of time that the stitch has not only stopped hurting, but has resolved itself. Especially in a race, it's hard to actually stop and squat down for the full 30 seconds it takes to get rid of the problem. After all, you usually feel fine within 10 seconds of squatting down...that seems like an eternity...how are you going to stay squatted another 20 seconds now that the pain has abated? Hence, the rock-spit-replace time killer.

This is similar to what you should do if you have a cut that is bleeding. DON'T keep checking it. Find a time-piece and measure out 5 full minutes of keeping pressure on it before checking to see if it has stopped bleeding. (This recommendation is a lot more scientifically based...has to do with the time required to run through the steps of an adequate coagulation cascade.)

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Quid quid latine dictum sit altum videtur
(That which is said in Latin sounds profound)