Hi all,
I am relatively new to runnning, although I have done a little before. I recently took it up again and with the aid of some knee supports, am getting along better than last time I tried. However, I am still having trouble with stitches, and am wondering if anyone else had problems with these when they started running, and how they overcame it?

Thanks!

hello Mina... welcome to the forum

I would suggest that you need to relax and just run easy to get into a natural rhythm to start with. A stitch quite often occurs if you have not got a 'settled' and even pace

hi trinity, thanks for the welcome

I've read alot of stuff about breathing techniques, shallow breathing and lack of core stability. I'm wondering whether my problem will improve naturally, as you say, by being more relaxed/increased endurance, or whether I should attempt to follow some kind of breathing pattern, or do core excersises?

It's really frustrating because my legs dont feel tired by the distances I'm currently running but I'm forced to stop before I want to by the stitch pain.

Hi Mina,

One thing i would advise is not to have a heavy meal before running. I more often than not run late when attending a running club saturday mornings love my bed to much! I have been know to be eating breakfast in the car on the way a big no no! (But hey im a fool ) Sensible meals a couple hours before is the way to go!

Just go out and find your natural running style and don't force the pace to begin with.

Hi Mina

One thing I used to do when I got a stich was to do 3-4 large exhales 3-4 seconds apart and when I say large exhales you really want to empty your lungs completely.

Also while the stich is running off just gently ease of the gas a little and concentrate on running smoothly (as if running on ice).

I used to stitch up when running downhill as the impact combined with my legs running away from me triggered them for some reason.

Hope this helps.

I usually get a stitch around about 3-4 miles into my run if I'm trying to run my route a bit faster than usual when trying to build some speed. I always run through it but it can last for a mile and a half and then it disappears around about five miles. However, one thing I've noticed is that as I increase the number of faster runs on a 5 mile route over say a 2 week period, after 2 or 3 times the stitch will appear at later stages in the run until eventually I can do it without getting a stitch. I think it's all linked to my fitness and whether or not my lungs are up to what my body is trying to do. And I agree with the earlier stuff about eating too much beforehand.