10 Different Causes of Side Pain When Running

10 Different Causes of Side Pain When Running

In this article, we will investigate 10 causes of side pain when running. If you have experienced that, Stay with us to know the reason behind it.

You’re just going about your day when suddenly, you’re hit with a wave of pain. What’s your body trying to tell you? And why does it have to hurt you to do it? Here are twenty things you never knew about pain.

Pain Is Your Body’s Warning System

Remember when you decided to touch the stove as a kid? Your hand only glanced at it for half a second before you pulled it away in pain and wound up with a blister - and a stinging lecture from Mom about safety. This was a case where the pain was beneficial - as soon as you touched something that could hurt you, your pain receptors kicked in and sent the powerful message that you should stop before you caused more serious damage.

This nerve signal indicates to the body that it should withdraw from a damaging stimulus immediately and avoid it in the future - saving you a lot of future pain. But not every pain serves a useful purpose.

What the Hurt?

There’s another kind of pain that just seems to linger, even when there’s nothing on the surface causing it. This is called chronic pain, and it lasts more than three to six months. It can be caused by problems in the body’s various systems, but it’s most often caused by the nervous system. Something gets damaged, and the brain or spinal cord sends signals to a part of the body that indicates - something’s wrong here.

Solving or relieving chronic pain can be tricky, and sufferers often spend a lot of time visiting doctors to try to find the right combo of therapy or medication to make their pain finally go away. But there’s another cause for chronic pain - and it comes for all of us.

In this article, we will investigate causes of side pain when running. Stay with us.

What’s Eating Grandma?

Have you ever heard your grandparent complaining about their back or knees, or...well, everything? Probably, and there’s a reason for that - chronic pain tends to come with age. That’s because just like your car or computer, our bodies wear out after a while - but getting new parts isn’t as easy as going to the store.

Joints are particularly vulnerable to this because the cartilage and muscle used to make sure everything moves smoothly wear out before the bone does - which can make swinging the knees or other parts a lot rougher and more painful. Thankfully, doctors can now implant artificial joints so grandparents everywhere can start dancing the night away with less pain. But can pain be a sign of something good?

 Feel the Burn!

If you’ve ever lifted weights or tried to break your record on the track, you probably know you can feel pretty rough afterward. Your muscles are cramping up, it can be hard to move, and you just want to lie down and watch some TV for a while. But after a little, it passes - and you feel stronger.

This is because working your muscles causes a build-up of lactic acid, which makes them tighten up and more painful to move them. It relieves itself after a little while and they wind up stronger in the long run. Just be careful you’re not overdoing it - if you’re spending hours in bed because it’s too painful to move after a workout, you might be going too hard too fast. But that’s not the only workout-related pain.

In this article, we will investigate causes of side pain when running. Stay with us.

Hip to the Burn

Alright! we have arrived to the causes of side pain when running.

Have you ever gone for a run, and suddenly the front of your hip starts hurting? This doesn’t always come with running too hard, and it doesn’t seem like there’s a recurring injury - but it’s painful enough to stop you in your tracks.

• Diaphragmatic muscle strain; The first of our list about the causes of side pain when running is Diaphragmatic muscle strain. The diaphragm, the primary muscle involved in breathing, can become strained due to sudden changes in breathing patterns or exertion levels.
• Ligament irritation; The 2nd of our list about the causes of side pain when running is Ligament irritation. The ligaments connecting the diaphragm to abdominal organs can become irritated due to repetitive movements during exercise.
• Blood flow restriction; The 3th of our list about the causes of side pain when running is Blood flow restriction. Increased blood flow to muscles during exercise may divert blood away from the diaphragm, leading to ischemia and pain.
• Gastrointestinal issues
• The 4th of our list about the causes of side pain when running is Gastrointestinal issues. Eating or drinking too close to exercise can cause digestive upset, leading to abdominal discomfort.
• Spleen enlargement; The 5th of our list about the causes of side pain when running is Spleen enlargement. If your spleen is enlarged, you may experience pain on the left side of your abdomen, especially during running.
• Gallstones; The 6th of our list about the causes of side pain when running is Gallstones. Gallstones can cause sudden, severe pain in the upper right abdomen. This pain may also radiate to your back or shoulder.
• Kidney infection; The 7th of our list about the causes of side pain when running is Kidney infection. A kidney infection can cause pain in the flank, back, and lower abdomen. You may also have fever, chills, and nausea.
• Appendicitis; The 8th of our list about the causes of side pain when running is Appendicitis. Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, a small organ located in the lower right abdomen. Pain from appendicitis typically starts around the navel and then moves to the lower right abdomen.
• Hiatal hernia; The 9th of our list about the causes of side pain when running is hiatal hernia. It occurs when part of the stomach pushes through the diaphragm into the chest cavity. This can cause heartburn, chest pain, and difficulty swallowing.
• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); The last of our list about the causes of side pain when running is IBD. Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, and rectal bleeding.

Prevention tips

To minimize the side pain when running, you can follow below tips:

These tips can help you regarding the side pain when running. If you have any other tips that can reduce the side pain when running, tell us in the comments.

It’s All In the Wrist

You’re typing away on that report that’s due...well, best not to look at that. Then, suddenly, a shooting pain in your wrist hits you, and your fingers seem to be getting numb. That’s going to make it difficult to type. This is one of the most common repetitive-stress injuries - and it doesn’t hit athletes, but office workers. Carpal Tunnel Syndrome happens when the median nerve gets compressed as it sends signals from the wrists to the fingers.

It can be linked to rheumatoid arthritis, but the most common cause is repetitive work involving the wrists. It can be alleviated by injections and splints, but surgery is an option for more serious pain. But what about the pain that isn’t there at all?

Ooh, Ghosts. Spooky

When someone has an amputation - be it due to chronic issues or a sudden injury - at least they don’t have to worry about pain there anymore. They can get a prosthetic and move on with their life...right? Not always. Many amputees find themselves experiencing serious pain in their limbs - even though the limb isn’t there anymore!

Over eighty percent of amputation patients report feeling some strange sensation in their missing limb, which indicates it’s a common response to an unusual nerve stimulus - and the body has to adjust its nerve reactions before this bizarre response resolves itself. It’s not the only case where pain involves psychological stimuli.

If you want to know more about the side pain when running, check Here.

Calm Down Already!

Pain is largely a physical response to your body either sending or receiving messages - but it has a mental element too. It causes you stress, which leads to frustration and fear. This is especially common with chronic pain, where it’s not clear what’s causing the pain or how to stop it.

The problem is, that stress can heighten the body’s pain response and make it more difficult to focus and solve the problem. If you doubt this, try solving a math problem while getting shocked with a joy buzzer repeatedly. One of the best ways to cut down on pain, though, might be surprising.

Get Smoked!

Do you know what causes stress? Pain! Do you know what many people use to relieve stress? Smoking! The problem is, it’s doing the exact opposite of relieving pain. Smoking is a serious risk for people with chronic pain caused by conditions like fibromyalgia.

That’s because smoking decreases the blood flow going to joints and can delay the healing of injuries. That’s why doctors will often tell people not to smoke before or after surgery. It can also interfere with some medications, so it may be time to think about quitting. But that’s not the only unexpected thing that can enhance pain.

What’s For Lunch?

One of the biggest culprits in chronic pain is inflammation. While this redness and swelling is a sign of your body healing in most circumstances, it can be too much of a good thing - causing consistent pain and difficulty with moving. And it can be caused by what you eat.

Processed and fried foods and refined grains and sugars can lead to increased inflammation, as can alcohol - a downside for those looking to drink their pain away. But for those looking to reduce inflammation, healthy fats and proteins and many fruits and vegetables can help. But one unlikely thing can help to relieve pain.

Get Moving!

We know - the last thing you want to do when you’re in pain is to get up. That couch is inviting and there are a lot of shows to binge-watch on your thirty streaming services. However, studies have proven that sitting or lying down while in pain can make the pain worse.

When you do have to get up, the pain might be too intense. Instead of waiting for moving to become essential, it’s best to keep moving and change position occasionally - especially since moving can produce the pain-killing brain chemicals called endorphins, giving you a similar effect to many pain medications. But if you’re looking to relieve pain, there’s another...more exciting way.

Get Busy!

There are a few pains harder to get rid of than a migraine. These chronic headaches can make it impossible to focus on anything, and the last thing you want to do is be active. But one type of activity may have an unexpected benefit.

If you’ve got a ready-and-willing partner, the best medicine for a migraine may be a roll in the hay. While it might not be a natural activity - after all, how many times has someone said “Not tonight, I have a headache.”. But a majority says that sex relieves their symptoms during a migraine attack - and the culprit is the same endorphins that are released by exercise. But sometimes the cure is worse than the pain.

That Stings!

Remember when you skinned your knee as a kid? It hurt - and then your folks said they had to clean it, and they used rubbing alcohol? Now THAT set your knee on fire! Why the heck does rubbing alcohol hurt so much? It does its job, but the problem is that the cut or scrape exposes the nerve cells under the skin. These are the cells that usually have the job of detecting extremely hot temperatures. When exposed to alcohol, their pain threshold gets lowered - and it’s not the alcohol that causes the pain, but your body temperature! They’re doing their job a little too well. And that’s not the only time something good betrays you and causes pain.

Sphenopalatine ganglioneuraligia!

There’s nothing like an ice cream cone on a hot summer day, or a Slurpee or Italian ice. You’re digging into a frozen treat when suddenly - ow! It’s like a jackhammer going off in your brain! You’ve fallen prey to the notorious brain freeze, but your brain hasn’t frozen. This condition - called Sphenopalatine ganglioneuraligia - happens because the pain receptors in the mouth are linked to the ones in your forehead.

Thus, the signals get crossed and when your mouth gets the news that something’s too hot, it gets transmitted to the brain. Oh, well. That ice cream still looks pretty good! But some foods could cause more lasting pain in the past.

Pass the Meat

Usually, kings had access to doctors who could help them avoid or treat many common diseases. But one disease was so common among royals that it became known as the disease of kings - Gout. This painful disease, which involves serious pain and swelling in the joints, was caused by a buildup of uric acid in the blood - a condition caused by too much rich food and drink.

That wasn’t something peasants had to worry about. But this disease wasn’t new - evidence of it has been found in the bones of Tyrannosaurus Rex - who had a meat-heavy diet. But not everyone experiences pain the same.

You can watch this regarding causes of side pain in running, too:

War of the Sexes

You’ve probably seen men and women handle pain differently. Maybe Dad cursed up a storm after hitting his thumb with a hammer, while Mom finished dinner before washing out that burn. But there is a biological difference in the way men and women feel pain - and surprisingly, it’s the women who feel more pain.

Studies show that women have more nerve receptors than men, and report being in pain to their doctors more often. This has led to a common problem where some doctors dismiss women when they report being in pain - after all, they’ve never felt the same thing. Everyone feels pain differently - and some doctors have adapted.

Rate Your Pain!

Rate your pain. I’d probably give it a zero! It stinks! But rating pain usually means ranking it on a scale of how severe it is - a tool that more doctors have begun using. It’s especially useful for child patients, who may not be able to describe their symptoms effectively, or chronic pain sufferers. Scales can vary - with some meant for kids even using different types of frowny faces - but most have a similar purpose.

If someone rates their pain on the low end of the scale, they can usually go about daily activities only mildly bothered. Someone on the high end may not even be able to get out of bed. However, some animals have an unusual relationship with pain.

Snakebitten

It’s one of the deadliest animals in the world - the Black Mamba. This venomous snake packs a powerful, potentially fatal bite. So one would assume it’s pretty painful when this creature bites you, right? Wrong!

The Black Mamba’s venom contains pain-relieving compounds that may be more effective than morphine. Scientists are working on developing it as a painkiller - as long as they can separate it from the toxic parts. And hey, for one of the most venomous snakes in the world, he looks pretty friendly. But some animals don’t feel pain in a normal way either.

The Rat Research

The naked mole rat is atypical in a lot of ways. It’s a small, bald rodent that is mostly blind and lives underground in large colonies that resemble insect societies in some ways. They also don’t seem to have the same pain receptors as humans despite being mammals - studies show they don’t feel pain when affected by acid or chili peppers.

This has gotten scientists pretty interested in how these critters can provide human pain relief, and they’re not the only animals who lack certain pain receptors. A 2005 report said lobsters don’t feel pain when boiled - a relief to diners everywhere, even if it’s still hotly debated. But a very small number of people are in the same boat.

Feeling No Pain

It’s a very rare genetic mutation, with a small number of people worldwide - including a cluster in a Swedish village - having a bizarre medical condition that makes them unable to feel pain. While they can tell temperatures, their pain receptors don’t work - making them uniquely vulnerable. A too-hot piece of metal can turn into a third-degree burn if the body doesn’t warn you to pull away.

A painful stress fracture in the leg can go undetected in someone without pain until it suddenly breaks. These people have to keep on top of their health like no one else because their bodies don’t give them warning signs. Your pain is like an alarm clock - no one is happy to see it, but it’s better than the alternative.

This article was about the causes of side pain when running and some tip to prevent that. If you have any opinion about the causes of side pain, tell us in the comments.