Bad cramp when descending

[mr brightside]

Whenever i descend i'm prone to cramp, i think, in my diaphragm. It could be in the guts but i think it's diaphragm related because breathing gets painful which is inconvenient, so painful today that i had to stop to bend over in order to ease it and lost time, i had to finish the rest of the run at a reduced speed until the terrain levelled out then it went away more or less.

It's definitely only when coming down and every step feels like i'm being stabbed. Any ideas? cheers.

[Sandra]

I get this occasionally and it is very painful. For me it seems to happen if I run when I'm hungry so as long as I eat something 2-3 hours beforehand I'm usually OK.

[mr brightside]

i'm reluctant to eat a great deal beforehand due to the requirement of blood by the digestive system making less available to carry oxygen to the muscels, will try it though.

[david]

Are you using your diaphragm correctly when breathing? It might sound a daft suggestion but a lot of people don't understand how to use their diaphragm. The diaphragm should move down towards the stomach when breathing in and up towards the chest when breathing out.

[Bruce]

I was having problems with cramp on downhill sections when I started doing fell races earlier this summer. Thanks to advice elsewhere on the forum, I now concentrate on breathing properly - taking long, slow, deep breathes during a descent really works for me.

Leaning forward, rather than back, also seemed to help. Thankfully, no more stomach cramps on the last few races.

[mr brightside]

I'm always breathing too fast to take long slow breaths, i know what is meant by using the diaphragm properly i think, i used to play a brass instrument and we were always taught to expand our bellies when breathing in and power the air out from down below rather than expanding our ribcages. I couldn't say if i'm doing this during descent, my mind always has other things to think about but i'll try to prioritise this a bit more next time.
Thanks for the replies.

[david]

i know what is meant by using the diaphragm properly i think, i used to play a brass instrument and we were always taught to expand our bellies when breathing in and power the air out from down below rather than expanding our ribcages.

That's it. Try doing some downhill specific training but start with a fairly gentle descent that's not too long and not too technical so you don't have to worry about tripping up and falling over. Run in an easy, relaxed manner and concentrate on your breathing.

[mr brightside]

Thanks for that, the next run i do will be Sedbergh so i'll have plenty of opportunity to practice then, especially down Arrant Haw...phew.