Running and spleen pain: 5 tips to avoid it naturally

Running and spleen pain are two circumstances that go hand in hand. Any runner has sooner or later felt that nagging pain in his or her left side, feeling it grow more intense with each breath until it takes your breath away. A disorder that, in some cases, can affect performance or, in any case, destabilise our concentration.

1. Why does the spleen hurt?

First of all, it is important to make some distinctions, since this discomfort can also be the sign of more serious diseases (such as, for example, mononucleosis, liver cirrhosis or anaemia).

What we are talking about in this post is the pain located in the abdominal area, on the left, just below the ribs, which occurs during physical activity (mainly aerobic exercise). This particular spleen pain is known by the scientific name of splenalgia.

The reason for spleen pain in athletes has not yet been clarified. The most accredited hypotheses are those that take into account the particular position of the organ in contact with the diaphragm. According to these hypotheses, in fact, it could depend on the excessive work of the untrained diaphragm of amateur runners.

To exclude that spleen pain is a symptom of a serious disease, it is important to keep under control the frequency and occasions when it occurs: if it occurs even away from occasional physical exercises, it is the case to report the disorder to your doctor. The same applies to the manifestation of spleen pain in non-occasional athletes, even when it occurs during training.

2. How to avoid the development od splenalgia?

Spleen pain can be prevented naturally, by avoiding some common mistakes and with a little cunning when it comes to training.

5 things to avoid to prevent spleen pain during the next session:

1. void eating and drinking too much before training: it is recommended not to eat anything solid in the 2 hours prior to the activity and, in any case, to eat light food throughout the day.
2. Avoid running without a proper warm-up: run progressively, start slowly and finish strong.
3. Avoid workouts that are not appropriate for your fitness level.
4. Avoid forcing your breathing to avoid pain.
5. Avoid neglecting abdominal muscle training: these are the muscles that support the entire upper body. 

3. What to do if pain occurs?

When the pain in your side comes, all you can do is stop and walk around for a few minutes. Never force the pain, wait for it to pass. It is permissible to start again calmly, but if the pain recurs, then you should walk back. After a couple of days of rest, try running again, following our advice. If the pain recurs, then it is a good idea to see a specialist.

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Stefano Francescutti