I've had injuries like this for a long time. Never has RICE ever healed it. IME, it's an overuse injury exacerbated by muscle tightness, muscle weakness, imbalance, etc. Once you start running again, the same problem comes back because you never addressed the underlying issue.

Recovery modalities that work well for me: dry needling, Active Release Technique, foam rolling (I prefer a lacrosse ball), strength work. I end up with knee pain late into every season and it's a result of my glutes not firing.

I'm not a PT, but I bet it could be a lack of glute strength. Try lateral side raises, lunges, side lunges, single leg dead lifts along with plenty of rolling and I bet you'd be fine in a week or two.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

Thanks! I've been doing glute work for the last 10 days, plus some hip mobility and lots of rolling and stretching. Did you continue to run with this while you worked through it, or stop running completely until the problem was fixed? I'm hoping the pain is may be coming from the muscle tightening up, and i can continue easy running while I strengthen the glutes and manage the pain with all the stuff listed above. I'm afraid this may be overly optimistic though...

I've always ran through it. I've skipped runs here and there, and modified runs to reduce intensity/duration, but I've usually run through it just for psychological help.

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@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri

Tightness is often a sign of weakness. I'm not sure I've ever had a painful TFL, but I've definitely had a tight one. My fix here is good old fashioned leg raises - think Jane Fonda - but rotate your foot externally. You might try that and see if it helps.

see disclaimer in sig line, I'm not an MD

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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

I have those on the list! It's tight, and sore. But doesn't feel like I've "pulled" or "strained" anything. I'm hoping it's just tight because of something like being overworked due to week glute activation and I can continue to run on it while working on improving the strength in neighboring muscles and stretching/rolling/rehabbing the tfl. I can't find much on the internet giving advise on WHEN you can run with a sore tfl. Hoping someone here has been through this while I wait to see the PT.

This is why real strength training helps in triathlon. You are unlikely to see quick results in 10 days, you likely need to build up both strength of the supporting g muscles like the glutes as well as neuromuscular training to recruit muscles that are habitually underutilized. I would go see a Pt, and do whatever band work they have religiously for weeks and weeks. Take some time off running, otherwise you will just exacerbate the problem. Taking time off running doesn’t usually mean a few days, but often a few weeks. It sucks. But you’ll likely need to. And once it’s better, keep doing your band and glute exercises.

Definitely do the strength work. But to keep running in the short term do as much rolling as you can. A baseball or lacrosse ball is the perfect size for the TFL. Just get the ball in the affected area and knead through it, simultaneously adding some hip rotation, flexion and extension. As you have described it, it doesn't sound like more than overuse. So it should come back quickly. Also roll through the glutes, ITB and quads, using foam roller or different size balls. All these are probably affected as well. If you have a sedentary or desk job, take regular breaks and lengthen the front of the hip... quad stretches or lunge stretches with rotation. Long term look at addressing strength imbalances, your affected leg is probably weaker. Focus on single leg strengthening. Good luck.

You win for telling me what I wanted to hear! Lol. I call PT today to get an appointment, hopefully I can get in to see my guy quickly and get this sorted out. Until then, I'm going to do as discussed below and hope for the best. I'll update after I get some answers. Thanks!