Running - abdominal cramps

Okay gals, I have a weird thing going on sometimes when I run. Yesterday (and a couple of times before), I started getting cramps in my abdomen on the lower left side. Sometimes I can run through them, sometimes I have to stop and walk. Occasionally I get the same type of thing on the right upper side, but I think that's just breathing cause it only happens when I'm pushing it. The ones on the lower left have no specific pattern to say when they come on or what gets rid of it, and it doesn't happen every time I run. Yesterday it made me cut my run short, so I tried again today and did 3mi in 35minutes with no cramping at all. Do you guys have any ideas, because I don't?

How "low" is low?

A few ideas based on my personal experience:
drinking before running - sometimes I drink too much before I go out for a run and end up with a bad cramp, but that's not very "low";

diaphragm (sp?) - inappropriate breathing sometimes can cause some diaphragm cramps in me... again, that's just below the rib cage;

ovaries - when I had my ovarian cysts, including a major dermoid one on the left side, it started hurting badly when I was walking with certain high-heel boots and, above all, doing high-impact aerobics (didn't run in those days). I don't mean to scare you, but some sort of cyst (ovarian or elsewhere) could be a cause... That is pretty "low", i.e. a 2-3 inches above my leg crease, not very far from my hip bone...

I hope others come up with more optimistic/easy ideas...

I actually have no ideas, but I get the same thing. Can't yet pin it to any cause except fatigue. I'll be interested to hear what others think. I know if I try to run within 90 min of eating a real meal, I get stomach cramps, but that's different. Low, mid-section, just below the umbilicus, on the left, that's where I get them. Not often, but it reduces me to walking when it happens.

what Lise said, and also it could be from the exertion. Esp. if you are really ramping up the effort and your body is not ready for it. Can also be an electrolyte embalance, so make sure your sodium is in check.
Hopefully it's not *female* related, but I'm guessing not if it only happens on certain runs. Sounds like your body needs to adapt to the effort. Once your fitness improves (not saying you are not fit. Just that your body may not be used to the effort) I would guess that they would go away.
I got a side stitch today on my run after my long ride, but mine was from lack of sodium. As soon as I got some salt in me it went away. When you get them do you push hard into the cramp w/ your fingers and then expel your breath with force? That usually loosens it up for me. You can also poke your fingers into the cramp and kind of lean into it while breathing hard.
Hope this helps??

Do you always exhale on the same foot? Sometimes when I run, I mostly exhale on my right foot and I tend to get sideaches from the breathing. When I notice this, I try to exhale on the left foot or every other stride. Sometimes it helps, and sometimes not. Cramps are strange that they come on suddenly and can dissappear just as quickly.

Like fixxiegirl says, you can avoid diaphragm cramps by exhaling on the opposite foot. It's cool to get into a rhythm (forget it! That's harder to spell than diaphragm!) like three beats or five beats, so you always exhale on the opposite foot: Inhale, starting on the right foot, for two steps, then exhale for three, then inhale on the left for two steps, exhale for three, or whatever works for you.

How low is the pain, relative to say your hip bone (iliac crest)? Your stomach, if you are thin and especially if you are tall, can hang way down into your pelvis, and it's a little left of midline.

I don't know...

Nanci

It's really low, about one inch above my iliac crest. I don't think it's an ovarian problem as I had my yearly exam about 3 months ago and everything was fine, although now that I think about it, it is in almost the exact location of my left ovary.
I had a complete blood workup about 2 weeks ago, including electrolytes, for a near fainting episode while at the hospital, and everything came back normal except for my TSH (which I'm currently fighting with my doctors about), but that wouldn't cause this.
I don't think this one is from breathing issues with my diaphragm, I have definately had that before and it was completely different. I try to get in a rhythm with my breathing, usually counting to three to breathe in and again to breathe out, and that usually helps with the cramps when it was higher up, but not this one.
As far as the intensity of this workout, it was the normal length I run indoors on the tract, but was the first time I had run this distance on the trail, although I usually run this trail once a week, so it may have had something to do with it.
Let me know if you gals have anymore ideas, I would appreciate it. Who knows, maybe this will just go away.

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Originally Posted by btchance

It's really low, about one inch above my iliac crest. I don't think it's an ovarian problem as I had my yearly exam about 3 months ago and everything was fine, although now that I think about it, it is in almost the exact location of my left ovary.

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Unfortunately, in my case, no exam ever found the ovarian cysts before they started popping and hurting like hell, even though I was followed every 6 months for another problem in the reproductive system area...

So ... really I don't think that's what it is, but if it continues, I think it would be worth it to get someone very familiar with that area of the body examine you (not pleasant to get your ovaries palpated... think of a man's testicles being compressed!! totally analogical to me) and, in doubt, get an ultrasound test done....

Good luck!!

When I am dehydrated (even just a teensy bit) I get abdominal cramps. Back in my running days I thought I was the only one...then I started asking other runners about it and discovered how very common it is. And the culprit was usually dehydration.

I get lower pelvic cramps after some of my runs. This has occured for years, and is infrequent but I get nervous about when it might happen again. On a few occasions the cramping starts during my run, but typically starts immediately after I stop. Although I have trained for and run marathons, I never had problems during a marathon or long run. The cramping has happened only during short early morning runs (less than 3 miles). I'll have no problems while running, and then the cramping come on quickly and unexpectedly. They feel like menstrual cramps, only much worse. They last anywhere from 15-30 minutes and get increasingly more painful, and then slowly go away. I think I have a high tolerance for pain ... but they take my breath away, I cannot stand and the pain becomes unbearable (to the point where I decide during the cramping that I never want to run again!). It is not intestinal, nor do I have nausea. The pain can be focused on either side of my lower pelvic area. Once they stop, I feel 100% better, and can continue running or even eat breakfast. This never happens during any other form of exercise.

I've talked to both a general physician and my ob/gyn about this. I had an ultrasound and exams that showed nothing significant.

I had a similar problem over the winter. It wasn't like cramps from over exertion or my diaphram, they were more intense and took longer to go away, once I had them for 20 min after I stopped running. After experementing with several things. This is what worked, take from it what you like, I hope it helps.
I cannot eat anything of any significant volume for at least 2 hours before I run. This wasn't so in the past, but now it is.
I only wear my really supportive bra for running even if its a short one, go figure, but it helped a lot.
I still get the cramps at times, I stop and do a standing side stretch. Usually this remedies it quickly and I can continue running.

Good Luck
Jen L

Welcome to my world.

I get a side cramp 80% of the time when I run. Somtimes it's really bad and other times I can keep it at bay, so I can keep running.

I haven't figured out how to keep it from happening, other than running slowly and breathing deep. If it gets really bad, I jab my fingers into the cramp and that helps too.

I hope that one of theses days it just stops happening.

Oh wow, this is an old thread. I definately wasn't expecting to see it up here now. Anyways, the abdominal cramp problem I had such a hard time with last year has dimimished greatly; still occasional twinges, but rarely enough to hinder what I'm doing, luckily. And I never found out what caused it. Hope ya'll figure something out that helps, or they just kinda fade down like mine did.

KSH - I'm assuming you've tried everything but... I was just reading that it may help to breathe IN when you step on your left foot and out on your right. Personally, I take two little breaths in and two breaths out once I'm working hard so do two in (starting on left foot, and two out, starting on left foot again). Does that make sense? Also that breathly in deeply is important to get the lungs fully inflated and push down the diaphragm. I don't get side cramps so it's not a problem for me but my son does and it seems to help him.

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Originally Posted by kelownagirl

KSH - I'm assuming you've tried everything but... I was just reading that it may help to breathe IN when you step on your left foot and out on your right. Personally, I take two little breaths in and two breaths out once I'm working hard so do two in (starting on left foot, and two out, starting on left foot again). Does that make sense? Also that breathly in deeply is important to get the lungs fully inflated and push down the diaphragm. I don't get side cramps so it's not a problem for me but my son does and it seems to help him.

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Thanks for the tips.

Yea, I tried that... but my breathing just felt forced and not natural. And it didn't help.

Really, I believe my issue is that when I speed up, I don't breathe deep into my bell... and bam! There is the side cramp.


BT- this thread is a YEAR OLD? Dang. Happy to hear your side cramp went away!