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Mystery #2Tier 2breathing and exercise

Why do you sometimes get that sharp stabbing stitch in your side when running?

You're running along happily when suddenly a sharp, stabbing pain jabs you in the side, low down near your ribs. You slow to a walk, press the spot, and after a while it fades. Why does hard running sometimes give you a stitch?

Runners on a tree-lined London road near the end of a marathon, with a sign reading 800m to go
Photo: Stephen Craven · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons

Your guess

What do you think is happening in your side to cause that sharp stitch?

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