Discussion: Suddenly getting Side Cramps.

Im 16 and have been running most of my life, and I' ve been running in competitive school events [Track, Cross Country] for the past 4 years.
Suddenly over the past 6 months I've been getting side stitches very easily, normally as long as I don't eat 1 hour before my run and don't drink too many flavored drinks I won't get them but recently they've became fairly common, I get mild to bad side stitches 8o% of the time.
I've tried stopping to stretch of just walking but that usually only relieves the pain temporarily.

Edit: I also do 5o sit ups 3-5 nights a week.
Any answers to what's happening or suggestions to get them to stop. [Or get down to a reasonable level.]

As I understand it, this can be a cramp in one of a number of different muscles, mostly breathing muscles. I get these once in a while, and it usually works for me to breathe out as fully as possible and then keep pushing out for several seconds. This stretches the breathing muscles and often gets rid of the cramp for me.

Has there been an Attackpoint thread about this topic before?

There has, but I was wondering why I'd have a sudden stretch where I get cramps commonly.
I usually don't have them too often [I still would get them fairly easy without preparations] But suddenly I seem to have a lot.

There has, but I was wondering why I'd have a sudden stretch where I get cramps commonly.

Because you're 16. Welcome to growing pains.

Stitches, as Mr. Bone pointed out, are related to breathing. One thing that help smany people is always breathing out on the same foot strike. For me, breathing out on the left works best, but I know others who have had more luck with the right.

http://attackpoint.org/discussionthread.jsp/messag...

I had the same problem last year...i figured out that for me it was a combination of nerves and not eating right before i raced or did a hard workout

I had this problem also, and i found that it was related to hydration personally. If i was dehydrated slightly when I started a race or workout it was much much more likely to occur.

For me, breathing out on the left works best, but I know others who have had more luck with the right.

I never paid attention one which foot start inhaling and exhaling. I know it is usually four strides to inhale then four strides to exhale for me.

For example - let's say I start inhaling on my left foot then pretty much I follow following pattern:
Inhale - left, right, left, right
exhale - left, right, left, right

It happens automatically that I don't think about it too much.

Sometimes it does happen that I forget about breathing constantly at the start of pure running race in the first 1/4 of the mile from pre-race axiety.

My son went through something like that. He would experience pain up near his shoulders in the muscles at the top of the lungs while playing soccer. Doctor said it was the same as a side stitch, just a different muscle group. He was towards the end of a serious growth spurt and his body was doing a lot of changing along with his body chemistry. The cramps went away with time.

Shot in the dark.... How much height and upper body mass have you gained in the last year? Shifting center of balance and added workload could be causing additional stress on the abdominal muscle groups?.?.

you might try giving your food even more time to digest. I'll get cramps if I run sooner than 3-4 hours after a meal.

Thanks for all the responses,I'm about to go running and I'm trying a mixture of them.

Bill: I'd bet growth has a large part in it, I know I've grown at least 3 inches in the past 9-12 months. My body mass has stayed pretty much the same though.

Yup, that's what happened to me (although it was more like six inches - 5'5" to nearly 5'11" in 8th grade). When this happens, your body is literally being racked by the skeleton and it will do some strange things. Another nasty side effect of rapid growth is that you may find yourself tripping a lot more when you run in the terrain.

Not to worry - your body heals so fast at that age it hardly matters when you bang it up a bit. However, you should learn to breathe through a stitch because that particular malady can bite you at any age, no matter how fit you are.

I ran a bit over 4 miles to day and felt better than I have in a while, I could tell when i was getting a stitch and fought it off by breathing in long and exhaling fast.
It allowed me to run faster than I was and finally get over my slow 9 minutes mile pace, which was starting to get annoying.

Thanks for all the advice. :]