Health

Chest pains when excercising?

I get a pain just below my rib cage when I exercise. It feels like a stitch but comes on too easily and regularly to be that. What could it be?
Greg Simmons, by email

Dr Rob Hicks, GP replies:
The most likely explanation is that you’ve injured a muscle while exercising and it hasn’t healed. Another possibility is that you’re not warming up that muscle group adequately before your workout. Your symptoms may be caused by indigestion if you’re eating before exercise, or it may in fact be a stitch.

Try not eating for a couple of hours before exercising and sipping rather than gulping liquid during your workout. Make sure you spend time warming up and stretching. If nothing works, go to your doctor and ask for a check-up. If it is a muscle strain you’ll need to give it time to heal.