Why Do The Abdominal Muscles Ache After Running?

Running taxes the muscles of the legs more than any other part of your body, but it's easy to underestimate the role of other muscles in keeping you going -- in particular those of the trunk. Your abdominal muscles help stabilize your torso in a vertical position as your legs carry you forward over varied terrain. And your belly is subject to stresses related to digestion and breathing as well. Soreness in the abs after running can be in the muscles themselves or felt in or behind those muscles owing to nearby sources of trouble.

Side Stitch

A side stitch, as defined in the "British Journal of Sports Medicine," is an undesirable and poorly understood accompaniment to exercise, usually felt on one side and with the discomfort sometimes persisting even after exercise stops. As many as three in five runners experience the phenomenon, which is thought to result from insufficient blood flow to the diaphragm and abdominal muscles. If you're experiencing stitches, avoiding overly sugary drinks before and during your runs may be corrective -- and they tend to strike less frequently as your fitness improves.

Gilmore's Groin

Also known as a sports hernia or athletic pubalgia, Gilmore's groin in runners most often results from repetitive shearing stress placed on the tendons connecting the adductor muscles of the groin to the pelvis -- as occurs when you regularly accelerate from rest or rapidly change direction. Treatment may initially be limited to rest, ice and physical therapy, but if these fail to resolve the problem, you may need surgical intervention with the placement of a mesh in the groin on the affected side. Full post-surgical recovery can take months.

Osteitis Pubis

Inflammation at the point at which the left and right pubic bones meet each other in the midline, a few inches below your navel, is called osteitis pubis. The pain this causes, which can radiate down your inner thighs as well as into your lower abdomen, tends to come on slowly -- but the discomfort itself may be either sharp or dull. Osteitis pubis usually occurs secondary to a biomechanical imbalance that leads to instability in your gait, especially if you do an unusually high number of miles. Ice, rest, strengthening and stretching are the treatments of choice.

Referred Pain

A variety of intra-abdominal problems can manifest as pain in your abdominal wall. If you are a woman, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, certain pelvic infections, ovarian cysts and hormonally mediated conditions can all feel like ab-muscle pain. Runners of both sexes may experiences bloating with severe cramps during and after running that is often triggered by certain foods, especially those high in sugar or fiber. Even sacroiliac joint woes, though originating in your lower back, can feel like pain in your abdominal obliques. Any pain your have that doesn't resolve shortly after you finish a run should be investigated by your doctor.