I assume you are strength training to solve the issue, but I don't want to take i for granted. I was in your boat most of the last year and once I took my strength training for it seriously it went away. Have you gotten PT for it? I also got this patch that was like a cortizone shot from the PT that helped as well.

I've only done foam roller and professional massage.

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
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ok yea you need to be doing strength training too. I'm built more like a linebacker than a triathlete so I always assumed I was more than strong enough. However, having muscles doesn't equate to having strong stabilizer muscles and weak stabilizer muscles are what cause IT band issues. The IT band is really just how the larger problem manifests itself. You can google hip stabilizer exercises or IT band strength training. If you can swing it though go get a few sessions with a PT so they can really get you moving in the right direction. I now spend 10 minutes or so several days a week training that specific muscle group and it has made a big difference.

For me, it was all about glute issues....specifically, my gluteus medius.

Single leg squats are your friend. 3x15 every day. Then move to doing them on a balance pad (or a pillow if you don't have one)

Monster walks w/ resistance bands....do 'em both with bent legs (squat position) and straight legs.

Bridges....lie on your back, feet under your knees. Raise your hips off the ground, extend one leg, hold for 10', then do the other leg. lather, rinse repeat.

Lots of people advoacte doing leg raises against a wall and clams, but I have found it is pretty easy to have other muscle groups cheat you on them if your form isn't perfect. If you aren't feeling a burn in your ass dimple, you aren't doing the exercise right.

Foam rolling, etc isn't going to help much unless you are still in the acute phase of the injury (which it sounds like you are not).

Strengthen your glutes and hip muscles and your IT issues should diminish.

Good luck....been there and I know it sucks, but you will get past it.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

+1
Years of same issues and researching the solution. Power13 nailed pretty much everything with this post. The roller only does so much, and it really doesn't do much of anything if you are actually rolling the IT band itself. It apparently all comes down to the stability muscles, most importantly the Glut. med. I have started doing all of the exercises that were mentioned in this post and it has begun to help. I intend to crank it up quite a bit over the winter and try to "bomb proof" my legs for next year.

Just out of curiosity, how do you guys recommend reintegrating running sessions with ongoing strength training?

Don't want to hijack the thread, but I think this issue could be a lot of help to the OP too. I've been managing intermittent IT band issues in my left leg on-and-off all year, so I have a little experience but now that I'm hitting the off-season I want to deal with it properly. I agree that proper strength training is key and I've found lateral leg raises and clamshells seem to hit the spot. Although Power13 is correct, form is key, there's absolutely no point in doing it if your form isn't right and you're not hitting the right muscles.

So if I'm doing gluteus medius specific strength training twice daily (morning and evening), should I skip a session leading up to a run so that this muscle is somewhat recovered beforehand? It seems odd to do all that strength training and then ask that muscle to do a better job when it's fatigued than it was doing previously when it was fresh?

Good luck to the OP, hope it clears up soon.

Read this article: http://breakingmuscle.com/...-your-foam-roller-is

Stop rolling, start strengthening. Youtube "hip strengthening exercises for runners" and do those. Everyday. It might take months, mine did.

Maybe do the strengthening exercises after a run, instead of before. Something else to look at is your shoe type and running form (if you've had it for that long). Stability shoes and overstriding typically make it worse. If I feel mine start to flare up again, I immediately check my form and try to land more midfoot.

My IT problem was caused by my cleat position on the bike. It would only manifest itself late in an ironman bike and then get much more painful on the run. It took many race mile to feel the pain. I know this is a long shot for you, but does it hurt if you stop cycling? Moving my cleats outward fixed IT.

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Team Zoot So Cal

My $.02.....If you can tolerate some light, easy running....do it. But the second you feel pain, stop. Plan short, multilap routes for your run so you can easily walk back if you need to.

I liked doing some of the exercises BEFORE I ran to "wake" the glutes up and get them firing. One other thing I did (and I have no clinical evidence to back this up, and could be 100% correlation, not causation) was to actively fire my glutes when I was walking around the house / office / wherever. As I waled, I would think about squeezing my glute with each step. You really want those muscles firing when you run instead of being passive. I would also walk about .2 mile before I ran, actively firing my glutes as I walked.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Quote:

My $.02.....If you can tolerate some light, easy running....do it. But the second you feel pain, stop. Plan short, multilap routes for your run so you can easily walk back if you need to.

This is what I've been doing. My injury started late July. I was able to run through it at first, but that got old. Then I was unable to run through it due to sharp pain. Then I started running laps on the track. Now I'm on the treadmill. I make it one mile consistently then am able to stop as soon as I feel discomfort. I don't let it get to sharp pain.

So it looks like maybe I should try another week or 2 of what I'm doing, but integrating in the strength training. I'm not quite desperate yet and hate to give up the bike. OK maybe I'm not desperate, but have a long time to get it straightened out :)

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
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Insta: chris.s.apex

Do you think that you're getting any benefit out of those 1-mile sessions though? If that's all you can do before you start to aggravate the area again, it might be best to cut out the running altogether because to be honest it's probably not doing much to maintain fitness. If cycling doesn't aggravate it all, I'd certainly keep doing that ahead of the 1-mile run sessions.

Bilateral?

Very little if any. I only do it because I'm hoping one of these times there won't be any pain. It's kind of like I have to start somewhere so I've been doing 1 mile once a week. And 1 mile because that's where the pain hits.

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
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Left knee. I recall having it in my right knee about 10 years ago. That was also a longish healing process, but maybe not 2 months. I did nothing during that healing. No working out / strengthening....etc. It just went away eventually.

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
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ITBS does blow but like others have mentioned, strenghten the glutes. I do these:

Day one:

Fire hydrants
Donkey kicks
Monster walks with stretch cord
Standing hip abductors

Day two later in week:

Wide squats (Medicine ball)
Narrow squats (Medicine ball)
Monster walks
One leg squats

Both routines are done after my run and take approximately 10 minutes.

It has helped me with respect to ITB issues

Hope you return to running soon!

My 4 years (yes 4 damn years!!!) of IT band issues were finally solved this year by a combination of strength work and rolling/digging into glutes deep.

Hit the gym. I took the attitude of wanting the strongest hips/back/quads/adductors and abductors of anyone I know. It worked - I almost cried at the end of my first half ironman without IT pain.

So +1 to the guy who said monster walks, squats, side leg lifts, etc etc.

When I left the gym I wanted to barely be able to walk (gradually build to this though don't tear anything!!)

I still do these exercises to this day, a big leg day every week, and I remain pain free

Good luck

Ok, that makes sense.

Yeah I'd say your plan sounds sensible, integrate a daily strength training regimen and see if the distance that you can tolerate increases.

Couple of thoughts....

since you have been doing this with little success, maybe take a couple of weeks off from running, start the strenghtening regimen and then reintroduce light running in a few weeks.

Where is your pain in the knee? For me, it was in one of my bursa sac....deep down in the knee and no amount of icing and rest was gettin rid of the inflammation. If you are in a similar situation, ask your dic about a cortisone shot. I did it twice....wroked great both times, but the first time I neglected my strengthening routine. When the shot wore off, I was back to square one. IT IS NOT A MAGIC BULLET, but can allow you to resume running while you work on building your glute strength.

But again, it was not until I started 9super) focusing on my gluteus medius that I started overcoming my IT issues...since then, I have not had any flare-ups (2012).

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

I too have had IT Band issues this Summer (cycling mainly not running). It turned out I had developed adhesions along the front (Vastus Lateralis) and the rear (Hamstring) of my IT Band.

For me foam rolling didn't touch it, not even close.

I did have very good success treating it using two techniques. My sports chiropractor used Active Release Therapy (ART) and the Graston Technique on the Glute complex and IT Band. I did three sessions (around 1x per week). Wow, painful and left some bruising (more from the Graston Tech...), but very very effective in breaking up the adhesions, releasing the tension, and returning the soft tissue to normal function. Secondly, I used http://www.roguefitness.com/...tywod-super-nova-2-0 for at home care. Essentially you use it like a foam roller, but it penetrates much deeper and is significantly more effective. Also good for hamstrings, calves, etc. (BTW: I have no affiliation with Rogue Fitness).

Good luck!
Scott

It's on the outside and feels like it's almost exactly where the IT band attaches to my knee. So I think it rubs my femur down there causing the pain? Best guess of course.

Again 1100 miles of riding in August and it does not bother me riding. Sometimes I feel it SLIGHTLY. Sometimes if I get out of bed at night to take a leak I feel a SLIGHT amount of stiffness. The only time I'd call it painful is at that one mile point of a run!

I like your idea. Strength exercises for 2 weeks and see where I'm at.

Thanks

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

My solution was stretching my hip. Nothing else worked. After a couple months of PT focusing on my knee didn't work I started to focus on my hip. Within a week or two of doing so I had no symptoms.

What solved it for me was getting off the road and on to the trails.

Yup. ITB has nothing to do with he knee at all. The tightness starts at the hip. That's just a symptom. For me rolling, chiro and massage were useless. Just lots of really long deliberate stretching of the hip with some stretch cord use worked.

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TrainingBible Coaching
http://www.trainingbible.com

I eco what tri_pilot says do it after the workout. That is specifically what my PT told m to do

I id ART as well, but that really is only a band aid and doesn't treat he underlying causes. 99% of the time it will come back if you don't do strength training.

See a good sports chiropractor. Compensation for one issue often occurs on the opposite side of the body. I saw one chiropractor for continued itb pain for months, did massage, roller with no improvement. Next chiro, spent five minutes with him, he watched me run then stuck his thumb in a hamstring tear on the opposite leg. Graston and tape on that tear (tear was probably a year old), graston on the itb to break up adhesions and scar tissue. Problem solved. Adhesions can hurt like a bugger.

Just wondering how you were getting on with your IT band issues. Do you feel as though you've made any progress in the last couple of weeks?

As I said in my previous posts, my symptoms are very similar to yours, I'm still taking it very easy with the bike and run (which gets more frustrating every week) but don't really feel as though the strength training exercises are getting me anywhere. I'm beginning to think complete rest might be the best remedy.

I'm in the process of 2 weeks of biking and running. I have been doing the strengthening exercises. I feel a difference, but can still feel it walking around. No pain but just feels different than my good knee. I will try it next week and report back. I had my biggest swim week ever last week at 13k. This week too. Believe it or not kick sets seem to agrivate it a bit. Frustrating.

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

When I had my IT issues, I used a pull buoy so I wouldn't aggravate it.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

I've found that pushing too hard in strength training exercises aggravates my knee pain too. Would I be right in thinking that this is analogous to running too far too soon and that my form is probably slipping, I'm recruiting the wrong muscles and possibly doing more harm than good?

I've dialled it back a bit, just focusing on 3x sets of 1 exercise per session, but like I said, it doesn't seem to helping a whole lot and if anything seems to aggravate it on occasions.

Hard massage & stretching helped my IB issues.

Of course kick sets would aggrevate it. The issue with almost all IT band problems is a weak glute area (as Power13 said so well). Your kick comes from the hips. Again this isn't a knee problem.

It takes 3 plus weeks of any physio type workout to start to form new nerve pathways to get the body to start to build strength and muscle in an area. 2 weeks will start the process but it takes a lot of time to overcome muscle imbalance. Keep doing the exercises.

Most people do a little bit of work, find some relief and then stop doing the work. Shockingly the problem comes back after some time.

Keep doing the work at least 4-5 times a week. When the pain and discomfort do eventually go away, do the work at least 2 times a week. Basically forever. A proper glute workout doesn't need to take more than 15 minutes of your day.

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Ian

Thank you. Yes I get the muscle imbalance issue. I am doing the work and plan to continue the work well after it feels better. Or forever. I just do the glute workout as part of my core / "foundation" training.

Thanks for the input. It all helps.

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

All of this.

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

I wasted a lot of time and money rehabbing. It turned out it was my lower back that was tight. Once I started stretching that more consistently my IT band issues went away.

So what you are saying is that by doing some rehab you fixed the issue.

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Ian

I assume you were following up with my statement. If not, sorry.

I spent a lot of time and money rehabbing my knee. Turns out it was my back. With some proper back stretching, the knee issue went away.

Which is rehabbing sort of. I am assuming what you hated was seeing a poor physiotherapist who was not giving you good advice. But stretching to help deal with the issue is rehabbing it.

That being said, stretching to relieve the pain is great, but in no way deals with why your back was so tight to begin with. Maybe yo are lucky and just slept on it funny, but if your back was tight enough to cause your knee to go out of whack there is something fundamental going on. Stretching may keep it at bay but it is by no means fixing the issue.

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Ian

Here's a good write up on ITBS: http://www.runningwritings.com/...nical-solutions.html

My advice, F your foam roller.

Run some fast strides with good form and do the general strength stuff outlined. If you can't run easy then don't. Do some fast running with lots of rest to practice good form. Build slowly.

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Dan Meehan
Coach / Athlete

I posted on your original thread as I was having similar problems. My ITB issues have completely cleared up.

1. It was caused by structural instability and glutes not firing correctly. There are exercises you can do immediately pre-run to activate the glutes. This will make a massive difference.
2. Some of the other guys have recommended some great exercises such as squats. It is important you observe the way your knee tracks during this exercise - and make sure it doesn't cave in to the inside. This is due to glute weakness and is the root cause of your pain as the ITB and it's connective points are being overly stressed. Do your squats with a theraband round your news and actively try and drive your knees apart, working against the resistance of the band, as you move down through the squat
3. Monster walk, bridges etc etc - all of these are designed to strengthen your glutes, which are weak
4. I don't use the foam roller anywhere near as much as I had been doing. I use it some, but do more targeted 'tension release' with a yoga tune up ball or similar. This works much better for me
5. I picked up Kelly Starretts 'Ready to Run'. This echoed many things my physio had said to me (and more). I am using this book know as the basis of my run strength/conditioning program and it feels great. I think it's well worth a read.
6. Wedges under my cleats have helped I think as they prevent my knees collapsing inwards on the bike, which happens when fatigues and when putting a lot of power out

Stick at it!

Thanks again and to everyone. Some great stuff in this thread. I have been staying consistent with the strengthening routine and will give running a try soon!

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex

Tried running last night. Like clockwork at ONE mile in boom. Done. To say I'm frustrated is an understatement!

So back to history. I first felt this about July 20th, but ran through it no problem. I backed off early August running to about once / week and was mostly able to run through it. By mid month I was giving up running. I rode 1100 miles in August with basically zero pain and swim a few times a week with no pain.

No riding in two weeks, but have been swimming 4-5 times / week. I'm almost ready to quit swimming as well. The need to kick probably isn't helping.

I am absolutely doing the strengthening exercises like below. Every other day. I swear I feel a difference, but I guess not enough yet :(

I have never been injury prone as a pure runner. Apparently cross training promotes injury......lol.

http://strengthrunning.com/...video-demonstration/

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24 Hour World TT Champs-American record holder
Fat Bike Worlds - Race Director
Insta: chris.s.apex