The Chronic Pain in Her Side Had Nothing to Do With Running

I was chatting with another mom recently, and after I explained what I do for work, she said something I hear all the time:

"You know, ever since I had my kid, every time I run I get a stitch in my side."

Most people would nod sympathetically and change the subject. I started asking questions instead.

Which side? What kind of birth did you have, vaginal or C-section? Are you left- or right-handed? Which hip do you carry your kid on?

"What does this have to do with my running?"

Everything, actually. Here's the picture I painted for her.

The Body Remembers Unconscious Moves

Every time she picked up her child, her instinct sent them to her dominant side. She'd thrust out a hip, clamp down with that arm, bend her body to balance the weight. She'd done this hundreds of times a day, thousands of times a year.

Over time, that builds tighter muscles on that one side. So when she went for a run, her breathing changed, those tight muscles couldn't move the way they needed to, and there was her stitch.

I watched the lightbulb go on.

Despite years of physical therapy and genuinely trying to do right by her body, she'd struggled to shake this pain. At some point, I think she'd quietly decided this was just how it would always be, and started shrinking her running goals to fit a body she'd stopped trusting.

"So how do I fix it?"

Why Stretching Wasn't the Answer

You might think stretching and bending in the opposite direction would unlock those muscles. It won't - not on its own. Stretching doesn't give you a foundation for how those muscles are actually supposed to work.

Instead, I put a hand on her lower back and coached her through my French Press Breath framework. Within a few breaths, I could see her whole body change. Posture, presence, comfort — all of it rising to the surface. She had a whole new way of breathing, and with it, a whole new way of activating her core.

I told her to bring awareness to that area over the next few days and see what happened.

No Stitch

The next day, I got this text:

"Went on a run and used your breathing advice… No stitch!"

No stitch, after two minutes of work!

Two minutes that opened the door to a future where she isn't in pain and doesn't feel limited by her own body when she runs.

The chronic pain in her side had nothing to do with her running. It had to do with the fact that her body couldn't move well to support the breath she needed while running.

This is one of my favorite kinds of connections to make, and it's a powerful reminder of something I see over and over in my work: changing how you breathe can unlock years of tension and pain, and completely change what your body is capable of.

If you've been living with pain you've just learned to work around – a stitch, tight hips, a core that never quite feels "on" – it might not be a running problem, or a posture problem, or something you just have to live with. It might be a breathing problem that’s way easier to fix than you think!

Curious what's actually going on in your body? Book a session with me and let's find out.