A:
Drinking before exercise
- One recent study found people that consumed reconstituted fruit juices and
beverages that were high in carbohydrates before exercise
were prone to get ETAP. ETAP didn’t seem
to be related to the volume of the beverage consumed.
Diaphragmatic ischemia -
During exercise, blood flow is increased to the working muscles and reduced to
other parts of the body. The theory
suggests that the decreased blood flow (ischemia) to the diaphragm (muscle
which expands your lungs for breathing) causes localized pain. However, recent studies have found that
runners prone to ETAP had no difference in inhalation strength compared to
non-prone runners. The findings imply
that poor blood flow to the diaphragm was not a major cause of ETAP.
Ligament irritation -
This theory suggests impact during exercise pulls the organs in your
abdomen down, putting stress on the ligaments in the upper abdomen and results
in pain. However, side aches affect up
to 75% of swimmers. Swimming does not involve the up-and-down strain found in
running. Therefore, the up-and-down strain does not fully explain the origin of
all ETAP.
Several theories exist, but they all have some short
comings.
The following websites were
used as references in answering the question: