Home Physical activityHealthy exercises What is flatus? and Tips to avoid flatus

What is flatus? and Tips to avoid flatus

by Alivia Nyhan
Published: Last Updated on

The flatus is one of the greatest enemies of athletes since it can spoil a workout or a competition. It is localized pain in the abdomen that usually appears when physical exercise is performed, especially in those that involve running. It is a pain similar to punctures whose cause has been discussed without reaching clear conclusions. However, it is known that some factors are related to the appearance of flatus. In this FastlyHealarticle, we explain some tips to avoid flatus so that you can exercise normally.

What is flatus?

Flatus is an abdominal pain that appears, on most occasions, when people perform physical exercise, and more specifically in those practices that involve running. Most of us have experienced this pain, and indeed we have wondered what the cause generates it without finding an answer is. Although the reasons are unknown, several explanations try to answer this phenomenon. One is that flatus appears due to the rigidity of the muscles that stabilize the spine of some people, causing pain in the diaphragm. Others, however, justify the appearance of flatus to a lack of blood supply to the diaphragm, which is the primary respiratory muscle, causing pain. On the other hand, we must remember that flatus does not imply any health risk.

According to some studies, the most flatus sports are in this order: swimming, running, horse riding, aerobics, basketball, and cycling.

Tips to avoid flatus

Although there is no definitive treatment or remedy to avoid the appearance of flatus, there are a series of tips that we can take into account to do everything on our side and reduce the chances of fear appearing.

  • Control your breathing. It is one of the most critical factors for warding off flatus. Breathing during exercise should consist of deep breaths and controlled exhalations, expelling the air in two turns. We can also perform abdominal breathing.
  • Reduce oscillations during exercise. This means that we must try that the damping when we run and load our weight in each stride is as less abrupt as possible. This is achieved with good shoes and good running technique.
  • Control food and drink intake. We must avoid drinking liquids or eat just before exercising. This does not mean that we do physical exercise on an empty stomach, which could be harmful, but rather eat well in advance and drink water during exercise through small sips. Experts assure that the intake of liquids or food just before or during exercise can influence the appearance of flatus.

What to do when we already have flatus

If we have not heeded the above advice, or despite this, we suffer from flatus, we should not despair since we can still try several things to get rid of flatus. In case we are in training or a competition, and we want to eliminate flatus, we can do the following:

  • We must remain calm and not get nervous since we can hinder the rhythm of breathing and increase flatus.
  • Press the area where the pain occurs with your hand for a few seconds. This can contribute to the disappearance of flatus.
  • Stop for a few seconds and stretch the trunk to relax the area, facilitating the disappearance of flatus.

If the pain is extreme and usually implies difficulty performing the exercise, it is best to stop.

This article is merely informative; at FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any condition or discomfort.

If you want to read more articles similar to Tips to avoid flatus, we recommend that you enter our Physical Activity category.

You may also like

Leave a Comment