I’m having a problem with a very intense abdominal stitch, and I don’t know what’s causing it. It only happens when I make the transition from bike to run, and it’s so painful that I can’t run. I did a search, and most of the answers dealt with stitches that were higher (i.e. closer to the ribcage) than mine. The pain is on my right side, about three inches below and an inch to the right of my belly button. I’ve been told that it’s near my appendix. I had this problem in a race last year and thought that it was due to dehydration and lack of sodium. I increased my salt intake with Infinit, and didn’t get dehydrated this time. This past weekend at Boulder Peak I tried some solutions I’ve read about here–walk it out, exhale forcefully, take deep breaths, etc. Eventually it passed, but not before I did two miles in almost a half hour. Does anyone have any suggestions for what might be causing this and how I might prevent it in the future?
Bump
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I had the same problem for a couple of years, it turns out it was my iliopsoas muscles (just on one side). I do a lot of stretching and have my MT work on it about once per month. It very rarely bothers me anymore. - hope that helps.
Great, thanks very much for the advice. How do you stretch the iliopsoas?
Check out this article, it pretty much outlines what I do. Have a massage therapist work on it and get it to release, the process is pretty uncomfortable but works well.
http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/169_1.cfm
Hope this helps!
All I can offer is sympathy. I’ve read all those cure-all as well, and they have had little effect. Pushing in on the spot with my hand does offer some relief.
I’m interested in that stretch. Personally, my side stitches got worse as I increased my core/ab work, so I’m wondering if the stretching might help.