So I have some pain on the outside of my leg just below the knee, almost on the outer bone. My calves tighten up some so I think it’s either and IT band problem or shin splints. It felt fine running yesterday and then after doing two miles at marathon pace for miles 12 and 13, it flared up during the mile break. I had to stop running and catch a ride home.
My initial thought was shin splints, but it’s not sore directly on the shin bone. I’ve had shin splints before and it doesn’t swell up, it’s just painful.
I didn’t think the IT band went down that far, but someone told me they had issues with their IT band and it ended up in the calf after starting from the hip.
Any thoughts? Any remedies other than RICE would be appreciated.
Much more likely to be IT band syndrome based on your description. Yes, the distal aspect of the tensor fascia lata (IT band) inserts on the outside of the knee and lower than some think.
You can have “posterior shin splints” where the posterior tibialis muscle is pulling away from its origin (partly off the fibula) instead of the more common/typical anterior shin splints (tibialis anterior off the anterior tibia/shin). Most sufferers here though don’t relates the pain as “knee” pain, but lower leg pain only.
That sounds like the problems I had from cycling this past summer. I decided to try physio tape before going to my injury doc, and it ended up working really well over the course of about 2 weeks (although relief immediately). There’s some decent instructions on kttape.com.
Sounds like what I’ve just had. I have a tight IT Band and after a short run 3 weeks ago, got a pain that felt like a calf strain, but wasn’t.
Physio told me it was a flare-up of the IT Band where it attaches to the tibia. All related to the fact that my whole right side is weaker than my left, and hence tightens up really easy.
3 weeks of stretching and some myotherapy massage later and the pain has gone. I was still allowed to run, but only if it didn’t affect my style.
Ran a 25 min 5k in a sprint tri yesterday for the first time yesterday, so I’m hopefully cured… but I will make sure to keep doing the stretches, and foam roller exercises, and will continue getting the massages to keep everything loose.
Exactly how I described my first IT problem. Rroof told me it was itbs before I saw the doc, had the MRI, or anything else. Wait for inflammation to die down (ice/NSAID, etc). Then do the strength exercises, it really is that simple.