2 Responses to “lower stomach pain after swimming in pool?”

1. April 8th, 2010 at 7:55 am

   levy says:

   i think the chemicals could be the problem

2. April 8th, 2010 at 8:12 am

   Paul W says:

   A bloated stomach after swimming is quite common and affects most swimmers at some point, usually when they start training longer distances and try to go too fast too soon with poor technique.
   SInce you have some medical history (even though it’s very old) the first thing you should do is go and see your physician just to be sure. You should do this anyway if you have been inactive for any length of time and are planning a new exercise regime.
   Once that’s out of the way the most likely cause is swallowing air. This mostly happens amongst inexperienced swimmers or long time self taught swimmers who suddenly decide to get competitive and start increasing their speed. It results in distention of the stomach and cramping when you get out of the pool. This usually lasts about an hour or two at the most after you get out.
   As a coach I’ve done some research into this on myself to try and figure out how it’s happening. It’s by no means scientific but I’ve tried a number of breathing patterns and also deliberately swallowed water while swimming.
   First of all I should say that while swallowing water does produce the effect on the whole there is a strong set of automatic reflexes that stop you swallowing water. The only time anyone takes in appreciable amounts of water is in a drowning situation when you are gasping for air and aspirate (take it into the lungs) water by accident. At other times you may get a small amount but mostly it remains in the mouth and is subsequently spat out because there is a gagging reflex that stops you swallowing it.
   Swallowing air on the other hand is a different thing. A lot of people take very large gulps of air on their breathing strokes (especially when swimming in open water) and then expel some of this into their mouths when face down in the water. This is what they swallow back into their stomach.
   If you are swallowing a lot of air you will experience severe abdominal cramps as a result of the air distending the stomach.
   Once it’s inside your stomach there are only two ways to get rid of it – belch or fart! The first you can try to do straight away the second will happen naturally if the air stays inside your stomach long enough to be passed into the intestine.
   In order to avoid the problem in the first place you need to work on your breathing patterns and learn how to regulate your breath and not do the things that will pump air into your stomach. Easier said than done but my advice would be to take some lessons and learn how to do the strokes you like to use properly and then practice the techniques very slowly while building up your distances. This will give you time to concentrate on your breathing and get that right too. If you do this and get it right you will stop swallowing air and your swimming will generally be a lot more enjoyable.

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