Any person involved in a mobile sport periodically experiences pain in the right hypochondrium. Neither beginner athletes nor professionals are safe from this. Most often, runners are subject to this. As a rule, when running, the right side under the rib hurts, but sometimes pain can occur anywhere in the abdomen. Each person has it individually, the localization of pain does not change with subsequent attacks. An unpleasant sensation begins to manifest itself in the form of aching, weak pain, which is rapidly increasing and turning into a sharp, intolerable. When it reaches its peak, it becomes extremely difficult for a person to breathe and move. Even if a medical examination is carried out at this moment, it will not reveal pathologies associated with running. Then why does the right side hurt while running?
Improper breathing
The insufficient saturation of the diaphragm with oxygen - this theory has long been the only explanation for why the right side hurts during running, as well as after it.
The bottom line is that in the process of running the diaphragm works more actively, its need for saturation with blood and oxygen increases. A greater number of them is required by other muscles participating in motor activity. Due to frequent confused breathing, the diaphragm is disturbed, as a result, the heart also does not receive enough blood, this provokes pain. After a forced stop, the diaphragm does not immediately return to its previous state; the right side still hurts for some time after running. After the restoration of the normal breathing rhythm, the pain subsides.
This theory causes a lot of controversy, as some people have pains not in the right side when running, but in the lower abdomen, where there is no diaphragm. In addition, she is very hardy - the continuous breathing process trains this muscle area well.
Improperly planned meals
After eating food, the body needs a lot of energy to digest it. If physical activity takes place less than 2 hours after a hearty meal, an enlarged stomach will not allow you to move actively. That is why the right side hurts while running.
Frequent alcohol consumption
It's not about professional athletes, but about people who do not always adhere to a healthy lifestyle.
When drinking alcohol, the liver is under tremendous strain. The result is its increase in size and pressure on the nerve endings. If the "athlete" sins addiction, pain in the right hypochondrium will become a regularity.
Anatomical features of the body
From the point of view of anatomy, the abdominal cavity is covered with a thin membrane consisting of two parts. Motor activity coupled with increased activity of the diaphragm provoke friction of these parts against each other.
This version explains why it hurts in the right side when running in a certain place - the point of contact of parts of the shell determines the localization of pain.
Inadequate muscle training
If a warm-up is not performed before running, the body will experience stress. In a calm state, blood circulation and oxygen saturation of all body systems are debugged. Without preliminary preparation of the body for physical activity, normal blood circulation and oxygen delivery are disrupted. The spleen and liver immediately respond to this - increasing in size, they compress the nerve endings.
Spinal diseases
Deformation and any other pathological processes cause pain when running in the right hypochondrium. The diaphragm is closely connected with the muscles of the lumbar. Their tension is reflected in her work, and she, in turn, responds with pain. Among doctors, this is the most popular version regarding why the right side hurts when running. The systematic appearance of pain is the reason for the examination of the spine.
The presence of serious pathologies
The following pathologies provoke pain in the right hypochondrium when running:
- appendicitis;
- the presence of stones in the right kidney;
- biliary dyskinesia, stones in the gall bladder;
- gastrointestinal diseases (colitis, gastritis, etc.).
If pain in the right side periodically occurs and at rest, you need to undergo a medical examination.
Before exercise, juice or sweet soda was drunk.
There is a small volume of fluid in the human intestine (its scientific name is intraperitoneal). It is located between the parts of the membrane covering the abdominal cavity, this prevents them from rubbing against each other. Juices, carbonated and energy drinks significantly change the composition of the liquid, reducing its amount. If pain occurs after their use, this serves as an answer to the question why the right side hurts when running.
Before physical activity, as well as during it, it is recommended to drink only clean water without gas, it does not affect the fluid in the intestines.
Why does the right side hurt after running? Ways to eliminate pain
The causes of pain in the right side after running are the same as during it. Some time after the stop, the pain should subside.
If this happens too slowly, you need to use one of the ways to speed up the process:
- Go on a walk, taking full breaths. We must try to make sure that the kick of the foot on the ground or the floor on the left side is simultaneously with the exhalation. It is not necessary to do it for every touch of the running surface of the left leg, you can exhale in 1-2 steps. The pain sensation is relieved due to the fact that the left side begins to take up the main load, allowing the muscles of the right side to relax.
- Make oblique forward movements, thanks to them the tension of the abdominal region is relieved.
- Perform stretching exercise: raise your left hand up and tilt to the right, then raise your right hand and lean to the left. Movements should be slow and smooth, at the maximum tilt point it is recommended to linger for half a minute.
- Rub the diaphragm.
- Perform breathing exercises: take a deep breath, then, curling your lips into a tube, exhale for a long time. Repeat several times. Thus, a tense diaphragm is massaged from the inside.
- Lean forward by touching the toes with your palms.
- Massage the painful area with three fingers of the right hand, you can simply click on it until the pain subsides.
- Retract the abdomen as far as possible, taking strong breaths and exhalations through the nose.
How to reduce the chance of running pain
Running is one of the best ways to improve the health of the body as a whole, with its help it is easy to lose weight and improve well-being.
So that the process does not cause discomfort and pain, you need to properly prepare for it, and also observe a number of rules while running:
- With a firm determination to go jogging, you need to reconsider your lifestyle. It is not recommended to overwork much, rest should be full.
- Go for a run in hours of maximum relaxation. Psychological stress, fatigue, a desire to sleep, etc. after running will manifest even more.
- If the morning run, you need to give the body time to wake up (about half an hour). If you start running immediately after waking up, the body will experience stress, metabolism will be disturbed. If the run is evening, the muscles should rest after a hard day for a couple of hours, this will help to avoid overwork.
- You need to organize the right diet. Any snack before the start of the run increases the likelihood of pain in the right side to almost 100%.
- It is important to monitor the quality of food consumed. Even with the observance of the time frame, pain will arise due to junk food, fatty foods simply do not have time to digest at the scheduled time.
- If diseases of the internal organs and systems are excluded, and the pain in the right side is regular, it is recommended to wear an elastic belt on the stomach before jogging. When pain occurs, it must be tightened as tight as possible.
- Do not run to exhaustion, exhaustion of the body will not bring the desired result.
- At the beginning of the process, you must immediately establish the optimal pace of running. It is a mistake to believe that the faster the better - everyoneβs physical fitness is individual. A poorly trained person from too fast a pace will begin to choke in the first minutes.
- It is important to learn how to breathe. A good example is swimming athletes. They can only breathe when the face is above the surface of the water, their breathing is in sync with the movements of the body. Synchronization of inhalations and exhalations with kicks on the running surface will allow even organs and muscles to be enriched with oxygen, which will significantly reduce the likelihood of pain in the right hypochondrium.
- Training should be regular. The better the stamina and physical form, the less often the pain in the right side is disturbed.
- So that curvature of the spine does not prevent a full-fledged training, you should always walk with a straight back and head held high.
- Warm-up is a must before running, the better the muscles prepare for further exercise, the lower the risk of injuries and pain.
- The load should be strictly dosed and increase smoothly. Re-evaluation of their own sports opportunities will result in a stitching pain in the right hypochondrium.

Running is one of the best sports to improve health and fitness. So that acute pain in the right side does not become an obstacle to regular training, it is important to review your lifestyle, undergo a medical examination to exclude the presence of possible pathologies, and also follow certain rules in the process of running.