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Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome
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About 3 weeks ago I started having IT band pain, righe where it attaches below the need, just off tof the side of the patellar tendon.
First pain was after, not during my last long run before Mont Tremblant. Since then the pain hits around 3 miles into a run every time (I've only run 3 or 4 times)
Mileage is down to 6 ish miles a week from 42 the week of the first pain.
Since then I have tried everything, stretching lacrosse ball work, foam rolling, RICE, deep tissue massage, basically everything I can think of.
Despite all of this other seems it isn't improving and maybe getting worse.

Before I accept a painful amount of walking at Tremblant on Sunday I am wondering if anyone has aNY magic voodoo tricks for my situation.
Last edited by: JustTooFarr: Aug 14, 17 15:10
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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My IT band pain come on during the last week of May. Stabbing pain, right where you mentioned. I had to walk home about 3.5 miles when it hit hard, but I had been feeling tightness come on a few runs prior.

My recovery story:
10 days of no running, and I got into a local PT about day 7 (I've had weekly appointments ever since).
The first PT visit was rough. I was sweating, eyes watering as she worked along my IT band.
Each visit was about 20 minutes of focused massage along the IT band, and then about 30 minutes of focused exercises

Exercises: side steps with the bands, "ski jumps", various single leg stuff, occasional core/plank variations. I would supplement these days with 1-2 more days at home or at the gym.

Foam rolling: I think I've only missed about 5 days total, so nearly every day since then.
Light stretching most evenings before bed

Running:
Day 11, I started with 15 minutes, and never ran more than 25 minutes for the next two weeks, but at least 4x/week.
Week 5, my first 60 minute run, no pain. I continued with 4-5x per week running, focusing on consistency.
Week 8/9, I got up to 2 hours on a long run. I was sore, but not IT band sore.

I've now had three weeks in a row with 2ish hour runs. I am tight and sore towards the end of these long runs, but it's definitely not the IT-band pain. All of my runs have been on relatively flat surfaces (no crazy hills), and at IMish pace or slower.

I've been able to maintain my regular bike and swim workouts the entire time, so fingers crossed for CdA...

Anyway, just sharing my recent experience with this issue in case it's helpful. I'm sure much of this is n=1.
You'll find many other threads on this topic here with suggestions for different exercises and remedies.

--------------------------------------------
TEAM F3 Undurance
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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Unfortunately I don't think it will donyou any good before MT, but Gravitus Insoles fixed my IT band problems after 18 months and thousands of dollars with doctors, physical therapists, massage, chiropractor, etc.

I believe he calls it his Gravitus + system.

https://gravitusinsoles.com

Full disclosure, he is a teammate but I had never met him before he sized me for insoles. I have no affiliation with the company. I have referred half a dozen people to him and he has been able to help every one.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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Motrin, 800 mg every 8 hours with food. Do this for three days or until your stomach starts hurting, whichever comes first. Stay well hydrated!

Pigeon stretch both legs. Look it up on the internet. Do it as much as you can tolerate.

Steroid bolus (prednisone/solucortef) can help with acute inflammation but probably not a great idea to take systemic steroids in the days leading up to your race unless you want to be part of a twitch hunt.....

This may or may not work.

----------------------------
Jason
None of the secrets of success will work unless you do.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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I have had the same problem with the pain location the same as you. Last year I fought through it, raced then quit for a couple of months. After the first of March, my longest run was 4-5 miles. When it got tight I stopped since pain would soon follow. Did some leg strengthing, ect. My August half ended about as I expect, except for the fact that I favored my good left leg too much and ended up in a walking cast. DOH! Ran from December to July 3rd without issue, then bam 3 miles in tight below the knee #$@$!.

I had absolutely no pain in the location or tightness below the knee before that run. However, I assumed I was tight from returning from Europe 36 hours earlier. I have basically been strength training and stretching since then. Started to run near the end of July, still tight.

On the 4th of August I was rubbing the IT band out in the shower and found a deep painful knot, right around the ball of the hip. I assume in the TFL muscle. I worked the knot hard until I had a bruise, then got out of the shower and rolled the spot with a ball. Oh boy did did that hurt! needless to say, the next day I could tell a difference. Started upping my mileage .5miles at a time last week. Ran 2.5 Sat, Sun, and today with no tightness. Since the bruise is gone now, I keep working that spot, seems to give some good relief after a bike ride and run. Will probably try 4 miles on Thursday to see how it goes.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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Mine cleared up when I started foam rolling twice a day, not on the top or side but at 45 degrees or so. Given how quickly you're trying to get rid of this I'd try rolling it every hour or two for the next few days.

Might be worth switching shoes too.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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Start strengthening your glutes. Clamshells, hip abduction machine at the gym, good old fashioned leg lifts. That and the foam roller. But I bet you'll get pain relief with some hip strength + stretching.

Also, ginger and tumeric and other anti inflammatory voodoo stuff.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [Dr. Tigerchik] [ In reply to ]
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Acupuncture has really helped with a lot of my "issues". I don't understand how it works, I just know how amazing I feel afterwards.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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JustTooFarr wrote:
About 3 weeks ago I started having IT band pain.


JustTooFarr wrote:
Despite all of this other seems it isn't improving and maybe getting worse.

You have developed a running form problem. Go to a PT who will video you and tell you where your form is off.

Or, just stop crossing over midline with the leg that hurts.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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Stop hurting it until race day... rest is your best friend now. AFter the race, take some down time and find a PT.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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This may not be helpful to you but I had IT band tightness and pain a couple years ago and I solved it by going to a neutral shoe. I was using the brooks pure cadence which is a slight motion control shoe when I needed something neutral. I have never had a gait analysis done but based on my wear pattern, I do not have a need for a motion control shoes. Before going to a neutral shoe I tried lots of stretching, rolling, and my doctor put me on a regular dose of naproxen, none of which worked.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [I ride Fuji's] [ In reply to ]
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I second that. Acupuncture can help you to go through IMMT, don't think you will run the whole thing at your best pace, but it definitely will help you to support the pain. Then, after the race, go to a PT, stop running, focus on flexibility and strength exercises based on your PT evaluation. I had this shit in my two legs and was able to recover... since then I spend 30 min every day with flexibility exercises focused on IT band.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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Have you gone to somebody to have it checked out, that is really the only way to know what the real issue is. A few years ago I thought I had an issue with it, and treated it that way for months. Then one day in the Chiropractor office I mentioned it and the Chiropractor told me that it was a rotated Femur Head, after he took a quick look. He re-aligned it and it was a night and day difference.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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This exact thing happened to me about 6 weeks out of my last marathon. I don't know what all you can pull off this close to race day, but I ended up doing a LOT of glute-strengthening exercises (many mentioned here), a LOT of stretching, got a sports massage during which my hamstrings were annihilated, and stopped running completely for almost a month beforehand. This plus an inadvisable amount of ibuprofen allowed me to gut out the race within a minute of my time the previous year. How is your strength training? I'm pretty sure my IT band issues were caused by lack of strength causing weak glutes and overcompensation/alignment issues.

http://mediocremultisport.blogspot.com
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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I suffered from that thing many years ago and this is what worked for me, not overnight of course... record yourself at the track, front, back and side, then use some software to compare frame by frame your running form with somebody who has a good form and you'll be able to spot the main differences and based on that make changes. my problem was that I crossed my right leg way too much and I was stressing the knee really bad. After some time recording yourself again and you'll see how things are improving.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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I had problems a couple of years ago and after lots of time and potential solutions the one that finally worked was a DonJoy Reaction Web knee brace. I had the exact same issues as you with only being able to get to about 3 miles before the pain set in. This had an immediate impact and allowed me to get back to running. I wore it for about 6 months while doing strength and stretching exercises until I could run without issue. I have also had two friends who it helped as well. Might give it a shot. I would even be willing to send you the one I used, assuming I still have it, if you would like to try it out.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [JustTooFarr] [ In reply to ]
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My ITBS last month made walking painful. Cycling was the worst. 3 pedal strokes and it hurt. Got most of the following advice from this forum, doctors, PTs and sports chiropractors

Went from intolerable pain to running 75 minutes pain free in 9 days by doing the following:

-5 days off running/biking and only swimming and strength
-naproxen twice per day (400mg) with food for 14 days (Dr's orders but it actually helped a lot)
-icing the pain area twice per day for 15 min
-lacrosse ball in TFL find a painful spot and roll there until pain goes away (go across the muscle fibers)(for me this made walking pain free)
-lacrosse ball in glutes for 5 min twice per day
-foam roll quads (IT band does nothing, don't bother)
-graston every other day along it band and quad
-ART at glute every other day (same visit as graston)
-sports chiro fixing my hip alignment
-while walking, palpate the glutes to make sure they are firing, if not, focus hard on using glutes
-while cycling, palpate the glutes to make sure they are firing
-the following strength workout every day - at one point my hamstrings were so sore, I couldn't bike. Don't skip for any reason.

It takes about 30min, but fixed me very quickly.
3x10 Glute bridges - hold 5 sec at top, descend slowly
3x20 Clamshells - each side - on last set, hold 5 sec at top, descend slowly
3x10 Single Leg Glute Bridge - each side and slow - on last set, hold 5 sec at top, descend slowly
At the top of the last set, push to the opposite side to engage glute med. If right leg, push knee out, hips go left.
2x20 Sideways Monster Walk w/ Band- each side, slow, and controlled, feet facing forward, don't hike hip up when stepping, use glute med
2x20 Forward Monster Walk
2x20 Backward Monster Walk
2x10 Band Clock Drill - standing still, hit the 12, 3, 6, and 9 on the clock very slow and controlled - stable leg
2x10 Single Leg Squat - each leg slow and controlled - stable knee- start with a chair and work lower
Pistols to the ground - just a few on each side


It's been 4 weeks pain free and I still do this every other day. I've added single leg dead lifts now, but before it was too much. My biking power has gone up noticeable as well because of the added strength. Haven't gained a pound either.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [iamAERO] [ In reply to ]
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iamAERO wrote:
My ITBS last month made walking painful. Cycling was the worst. 3 pedal strokes and it hurt. Got most of the following advice from this forum, doctors, PTs and sports chiropractors

Went from intolerable pain to running 75 minutes pain free in 9 days by doing the following:

-5 days off running/biking and only swimming and strength
-naproxen twice per day (400mg) with food for 14 days (Dr's orders but it actually helped a lot)
-icing the pain area twice per day for 15 min
-lacrosse ball in TFL find a painful spot and roll there until pain goes away (go across the muscle fibers)(for me this made walking pain free)
-lacrosse ball in glutes for 5 min twice per day
-foam roll quads (IT band does nothing, don't bother)
-graston every other day along it band and quad
-ART at glute every other day (same visit as graston)
-sports chiro fixing my hip alignment
-while walking, palpate the glutes to make sure they are firing, if not, focus hard on using glutes
-while cycling, palpate the glutes to make sure they are firing
-the following strength workout every day - at one point my hamstrings were so sore, I couldn't bike. Don't skip for any reason.

It takes about 30min, but fixed me very quickly.
3x10 Glute bridges - hold 5 sec at top, descend slowly
3x20 Clamshells - each side - on last set, hold 5 sec at top, descend slowly
3x10 Single Leg Glute Bridge - each side and slow - on last set, hold 5 sec at top, descend slowly
At the top of the last set, push to the opposite side to engage glute med. If right leg, push knee out, hips go left.
2x20 Sideways Monster Walk w/ Band- each side, slow, and controlled, feet facing forward, don't hike hip up when stepping, use glute med
2x20 Forward Monster Walk
2x20 Backward Monster Walk
2x10 Band Clock Drill - standing still, hit the 12, 3, 6, and 9 on the clock very slow and controlled - stable leg
2x10 Single Leg Squat - each leg slow and controlled - stable knee- start with a chair and work lower
Pistols to the ground - just a few on each side


It's been 4 weeks pain free and I still do this every other day. I've added single leg dead lifts now, but before it was too much. My biking power has gone up noticeable as well because of the added strength. Haven't gained a pound either.

I am doing almost the exact same thing only saw the PT and did some needling and a massage vs all of your professional work but the strength and stretch routine is identical. However, my pain was only with running and not cycling at all.
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Re: Last Ditch Effort -IT Band Pain - Black Magic and Voodoo Welcome [Exige] [ In reply to ]
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Sorry to hear that. Step 1 should definitely be to get out of pain. You should be pain free in regular life before trying to run again, otherwise its logical to expect running to hurt as well.

For me, the 5 days off exercise and all the rolling, particularly the TFL made it all go away. In fact, this video made the pain go away, and the rest was building my muscles/form back up. The guy in the video is intense, but his advice worked wonders for me.


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