Low abdominal pain when running

[Stanimira]

I just wanted to see if anyone has experienced some of my problems. I am a 27 year old female; I am in a pretty good shape. I exercise regularly and for the last 3 months I have been running 3 to 5 times a week for 2 miles. My problem is that sometimes I would get very severe LOW abdominal pain when running.  Sometimes is on the right side, sometimes is on the left side. It does not happen all the time, though. I worm up and increase my speed gradually. I am not sure if I should I see a doctor about that. If anyone has had anything similar, please share. Thank you!

[hcwrangler00]

I am a 37 yo female and have had this severe pain for years, and it feels exactly like everyone describes. It feels like bad menstrual cramps, yet they contract like pregnancy contractions. If I push my running too much the cramps will last longer and be more intense. I have learned to stop the running as soon as I feel them coming on. Then they are much less sever and tend to last a lot shorter. I have had inner and outer ultrsounds, no cysts or masses. I also had a laparoscopy to test for endometriosis, and nothing. I also notice spotting the same day as the cramps.

My gyno has no idea what it could be so I'm keeping a diary of everything. I'll try the warning up slowly as they seems to be one thing I don't do when I get the cramps. I just need to replicate that to see if that's what it is.

[trouty31]

I am a 42 year old male and have the same symptoms as most that are posting on this forum.  I have been to countless Dr.'s and had countless tests / procedures done with no answers.  

Before I get more than a minute into a run, I can tell if it the pain is going to happen that day or not; it's like my breathing is completely out of rhythm and I can't take in enough air.  Like clockwork, the abdominal pain starts about 1.5 miles into my run.  If I stop, the pain subsides almost immediately, but in re-starting my run, it soon comes back.  

If I can make it to about 6 miles, I start to feel better and can run almost normally from that point - usually there is some burping involved that makes me feel better.  

Also, I find that if the temps are 50 and below, I am much less likely to have this issue, but anything in heat and high humidity, I can almost guarantee it will happen (therefore, I live for late-Fall, Winter and early- Spring running).  

On race days, I have had some success by running until the pain comes, stop and go inside and rest, and then going back out for the "real" run, but what a hassle.

I am thankful for this forum and will experiment with some of the advice that has been previously mentioned - especailly with warming up and psoas / iliacus stretching.

Thanks!

[getting_back_in_shape]

Yes I agree with warming up. I posted a while ago saying I don't get this pain when I weight train before I do cardio. Warming up definitely has proven to help for me. I think everyone should try it and post what results they get. I want all of us to find a way out of this pain. Bc as you, I know the extremity of it. Happy Running People :)

[getting_back_in_shape]

My female Dr. said if it were a female issue it would hurt other times than running.

[ShainaRuns]

What you do is walk it off by walking fast and stretching your stride out to the point of feeling a pull at the top of the hip. This did it for me. Other thing I did before this was lay straight on my belly and let my insides figure it out. It hurt less and the pain was quicker to leave didn't last more than 5 minutes. 'S better than 10-20mins believe me. I have narrow hips and an atletic build, 5'9 height and love running.

Hope this helps,
Shaina

[lmh1321]

I am a 27 year old female, and I also experience these identical symptoms. I am very fit, and healthy. I train in a gym 5 days a week, and never experience this pain, but do everytime I run outdoors. This has been going on for several years.  I run the same trail everytime, and its usually just past the middle of the 5 kms, right after a really big hill that the pain usually starts. Its almost like a menstrual cramp, but in the low, low abdomen. It usually persists for about 5-10 minutes, and if I stop running and walk for 5 or so minutes, the pain dissapates, and usually does not return for the remainder of my run. I had several 'LEEP' procedures when I was aged 17-23, and I thought perhaps this pain was related to the procedures. However, after reading everyone elses posts, now I am not so sure. I've read online that this can be due to ovarian cysts. Has anyone with these symptoms been diagnosed with cysts? And if so, does the pain while running persist after the cysts are removed?