If you are exercising and experience lower right quadrant abdominal pain, you might be having a side stitch. Side stitches are common and are experienced by many athletes and people engaged in various types of physical exertion. According to the Core Performance website, the symptoms of a side stitch are a stabbing pain on the lower right side of your abdomen with pain stopping almost immediately after you stop exercising. If you have a pain that was present before exercise or that persists after exercise stops, see your doctor for an evaluation.
Prevalence
A side stitch, or exercise-related transient abdominal pain, is a painful condition that affects many athletes and people who engage in regular, vigorous exercise. The pain is only temporary, not serious and usually occurs on the right side of the abdomen. According to the Sports Injury Bulletin, scientists recently studied a group of 965 athletes in six different sports to better understand stitches and found the condition to be very common. During the study, stitches affected 75 percent of swimmers, 69 percent of runners, 62 percent of horse riders, 52 percent of aerobics participants, 97 percent of basketball players and 32 percent of cyclists.
Cause
This unpleasant condition is most likely caused by a spasm of the diaphragm muscle according to The Stretching Institute. The diaphragm muscle separates the chest and abdominal cavities and moves up and down when you inhale and exhale. When you inhale, your lungs fill with air and your diaphragm moves down, and when you exhale, your lungs empty and your diaphragm rises. When you breath rapidly, your diaphragm is quickly moving up and down while your organs are bouncing around during physical activity. If you exhale while gravity is pulling certain organs down, especially organs that are attached to your diaphragm your diaphragm is going to be stretched which will result in pain. The largest organ is the liver, which is attached to the diaphragm on the right side of the abdominal cavity, therefore pain on the right side is more common.
Treatment
When you get a side stitch, stop the activity that brought it on or reduce the intensity of your exercise. If stopping just isn't practical, you can try to change your breathing pattern. Take full, deep breaths and avoid shallow breathing. If you are doing an activity on the ground, try to avoid exhaling when your right foot hits the ground to minimize the stretching phenomenon.
Prevention
According to The Stretching Institute, you can try to prevent a side stitch by improving your cardiovascular fitness, breathing deeply during exercise, warming up before you exercise, avoiding food right before exercise and drinking more fluids so you stay hydrated. It also helps to strengthen core muscles in your lower back, chest and abdomen.
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