I was talking to my physio today about my disappointing run on Sunday.... No, I'm not going to start another rant, we were talking about the stitch I experienced in the second of the race. I told him about my being desperate enough to try something I had heard, that carrying a handful of grass, helped ease stitch when running. He laughed out loud and said he had never heard of this and asked what research or physiological theory this was based on. Of course, I had no evidence to back it up, other than that my stitch did ease later in the race, though I doubt it was due to the handful of shrubbery I carried across the finish line. My physio jokingly suggested that I will probably try it again in the future and I am inclined to agree that in a similar desperate situation, I will end up attacking some poor plant on the roadside in hope it will cure my agony...
Now there are two issues at hand here, one, which I’m not going to get into today, is that sometimes the power of psychology can be a great ally or a formidable foe. Part of this is superstition, the power of a piece of bush, or small stones (which I have seen mentioned on forums a number of times, as a stitch cure, if carried in each hand), or the power of your lucky *insert item here*, to improve performance or stave off disaster. Maybe I will talk about this another time. The second issue, which do I want to talk about, and which has a little more scientific backing is that of what causes stitch and how can it be prevented and or cured?
Of course, I did a little research...
Cause: It appears that the jury is still out as to what causes stitch, but two more widely recognized theories are that it is a result of muscle spasms of the "diaphragm" (the sheet of muscle that separates your guts from your heart and lungs and is used in breathing) or irritation of the “parietal peritoneum” (the wrapping of your guts), as a result of jiggling of your insides during running. There are also discussions about eating and/or drinking too close to running.
Cure: Most experts discuss the importance of deep breathing or “belly breathing” during exercise. Also alternating which foot strike you breathe out on, so as to decrease the strain put on either side of the diaphragm has been mentioned. Slowing your running pace or stopping and bending at the waist or stretching out tall is also helpful, though in a race this means a possible slower time, (I didn't manage to find any scientific theory for carrying bits of bush anywhere, I'm sad to say).
Prevention: To decrease the occurrence of stitch experts suggest a combination of the above 'cure' techniques and conditioning exercises for the abdominal region (to minimize jiggling of insides I presume). Also being mindful of what you eat and drink prior to running.
Basically, after reading up on stitch I’m left feeling better educated but no more confident that I will be prepared for the next episode. But I will definitely be doing more core strength exercises, which my physio will be pleased about. I will try to use my belly to breath, maybe grunt a little and/or purse my lips (you will understand those two if you read the articles linked below). I may even carry a couple of leaves a tree branch and a handful of gravel while wearing my lucky socks too, just in case...
Here are a couple of links that you might want to read yourself, see if you feel any safer from the dreaded stitch...
Side Stitches: causes, cure and prevention
Stitch Pain - The biggest pain for athletes
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