I am training for a marathon on Jan 18. and had a run cut short by IT Band pain yesterday. What is the fix to be ready for the marathon in 2 weeks. Any advice is appreciated, most of what I am reading is decreased mileage and rest. This is the first injury I have had in 1.5 years of running and training.
Thanks in advance.
I’m not an expert, but I don’t think there is a magic pill that can make IT band paint go away without rest. I’ve read that it’s usually caused by weak glutes, hips, etc. and the best way to prevent it is to strengthen those areas.
Foam rolling every day before and after running if possible…
Do you foam roll the side of your leg where the it band runs?
Yup, when I have time I do calf, quad, IT band, glute, etc, per leg, when I don’t I only do the side of the leg where the IT band runs, slowly 2 - 3 min per leg or until I feel is enough, it will hurt as hell the first weeks but then you’ll enjoy the pain specially since you will see the benefits, look on youtube for IT band foam rolling videos, it will give you a good idea.
Former IT Band sufferer here. I’ve had it beside the knee, and also up in the hip. If you search my posts, I’ve written a lot about it, but I wanted to chime in and give you some quick “points” which I wish someone would have given me when I had it.
Your IT band is screwed up because of something other than your IT band. 99.9% of the time, ITB sufferers have a weak butt and hips. You need to address this, or your ITB issues will never go away. Do exercises twice a day. Do bridges on your heels (look it up on youtube). Get the mini bands from performbetter.com and do side steps to strengthen your hips. Getting your hips and butt strong (and keeping them strong) is the only true way to recover from ITB issues and stay injury free. Doing the side steps with mini bands is probably the only way to really get rid of it. It might seem silly doing these 2 exercises, but it’s exactly what I needed (and continue to need).
Also, address your running form. Do you think about cadence? Footfall? Are you a heel striker? Do your shoes contribute to your issues? Strive for 180 steps per minute (90 per leg) and use a short stride. This will significantly put less stress on the IT band.
How quickly do you ramp up volume or intensity in your training? Hopefully very, very slowly.
Ah the foam roller. Lots of people will recommend this, and while it is GREAT for your muscles, it will do nothing for your actual IT band. It’s like rolling a basketball over a power cord. It will definitely toughen you up, and it is also good for loosening up the muscles attached to the IT band - like your glutes. I can’t afford a massage after every hard workout, so the foam roller is the next best thing. But don’t think foam rolling will solve your ITB issues.
Recover it. Whenever you feel the ITB pain. Stop! Right away! Do not let it flare back up. You will eventually be able to run further and further, and then one day it’ll just be gone forever. But you have to keep the inflammation away. I started running for about 5 minutes, and it took me a couple months to build up to 1 hour of running.
Above all, good luck! Don’t look for fast solutions. Address the root causes, and be slow and determined to kick it for good. Keep doing the glute/hip strengthening exercises even after you’re better.
Here is something I put together on the topic http://www.irepathletics.com/Articles_and_Resources.html#band
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Nick has some great advice. I was just sidelined for 3 months with ITBS. I tried rest, rolling, PT 3x a week, all the strengtheing exercises and ART. Nothing was helping so I finally broke down and got a cortisone shot. A week later I was running pain free. I have been building up my run very slowly now. I’m mixing it up between 10-12 minutes of running with walking between each interval. Rest is good when its flared up but if you don’t do anything to correct the root cause it will still come back.
I’m pretty sure that there isn’t much you’ll be able to do between now and your marathon - sorry for the bad news. The IT Band is something that isn’t usually a quick fix.
I suffered from ITBS from February to August of this past year. I was unable to run for more than 40 minutes without pain for a majority of this time. It seemed to come on suddenly, but was probably a long time in the making. I did quite a bit of research, and made this video a 3-4x a week habit. After strengthening my hips and glutes the pain finally subsided, and I was able to run the Marine Corps Marathon pain free in October.
Hope you’re able to solve your problem in less time than it took me!
Thanks everyone for the information.
nickwhite
I’d start the exercises right away, unless the IT band is hurting. Whenever you feel it hurt, stop what you’re doing to not inflame it any further. When I started, I ran half-way around the block, but it got better every day. I think running in the Newtons (for ITB) is actually a good thing as they make you pay attention to your footfall.
Having a shorter stride with the cadence up whilst having a strong butt and hips (I think) is the key to keeping ITB gone forever.
For me, the IT band is tight from a very tight Tensor Fascia Latae. Stretch it, and stretch it hard and frequently. Also foam roll it. Use any method to make it more supple. And do Glute ham raises, one leg at a time.
I get rid of my IT band pain in 1 day now if it flares up because I’m so aware of how to get rid of it. I had to get surgery on the right knee though…
I’m no expert, so all I can really tell you is what applied to me. While you may feel pain at the knee, the problem is likely at your hips. The IT band connects to your hip at two points; the gluteus maximus (GM) and the tensor fascia latae (TFL). See image below. Focus on stretching the GM and the TFL. I would tell you not to waste your time trying to stretch or foam roll the IT band - it can’t be stretched. The knee pain you feel on the outside of your knee is nothing more than a symptom for which a TENS unit works wonders! Target/CVS/Walgreens sell one (made by Omron) for about $40 - go get it!
Two stretches for you to try. Hold the stretch for at least 60 seconds. The more often you do these, the better - but at least twice a day. You should be able to figure out if these stretches are the solution within a single workout session by riding on an indoor trainer (assuming you have the inflammation at your knee somewhat under control with a TENS unit). Do the stretches and then get on the trainer. As soon as the pain begins to flare up, get off the trainer and do the stretches again. Get back on the trainer. You should notice some improvement. Over a period of a week or two, you should be able to ride the trainer longer and longer without stopping to stretch. I found I no longer needed to do the stretches after about two weeks. If the stretches show absolutely no sign of improvement during that first workout, you’re still at square one and you didn’t waste a week of your life doing pointless stretches. Kind of a lose win in that case…
Stretch the TFL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVdq9_T5qcI or google “half-kneeling hip flexor stretch”
Stretch the GM:
http://youtu.be/mlYM3KWwrGY
Former IT Band sufferer here. I’ve had it beside the knee, and also up in the hip. If you search my posts, I’ve written a lot about it, but I wanted to chime in and give you some quick “points” which I wish someone would have given me when I had it.
Your IT band is screwed up because of something other than your IT band. 99.9% of the time, ITB sufferers have a weak butt and hips. You need to address this, or your ITB issues will never go away. Do exercises twice a day. Do bridges on your heels (look it up on youtube). Get the mini bands from performbetter.com and do side steps to strengthen your hips. Getting your hips and butt strong (and keeping them strong) is the only true way to recover from ITB issues and stay injury free. Doing the side steps with mini bands is probably the only way to really get rid of it. It might seem silly doing these 2 exercises, but it’s exactly what I needed (and continue to need).
Also, address your running form. Do you think about cadence? Footfall? Are you a heel striker? Do your shoes contribute to your issues? Strive for 180 steps per minute (90 per leg) and use a short stride. This will significantly put less stress on the IT band.
How quickly do you ramp up volume or intensity in your training? Hopefully very, very slowly.
Ah the foam roller. Lots of people will recommend this, and while it is GREAT for your muscles, it will do nothing for your actual IT band. It’s like rolling a basketball over a power cord. It will definitely toughen you up, and it is also good for loosening up the muscles attached to the IT band - like your glutes. I can’t afford a massage after every hard workout, so the foam roller is the next best thing. But don’t think foam rolling will solve your ITB issues.
Recover it. Whenever you feel the ITB pain. Stop! Right away! Do not let it flare back up. You will eventually be able to run further and further, and then one day it’ll just be gone forever. But you have to keep the inflammation away. I started running for about 5 minutes, and it took me a couple months to build up to 1 hour of running.
Above all, good luck! Don’t look for fast solutions. Address the root causes, and be slow and determined to kick it for good. Keep doing the glute/hip strengthening exercises even after you’re better.
This is good advice, especially bullets 1 and 4.
After about 8 weeks of strength training on hips and glutes, my ITB issues started to go away. Use bands, do a few stretches that focus on the ITB, and stop when you feel discomfort.
As for the marathon in mid Jan, if your ITB is hurting while running, you may want to consider bagging it at the point, as it’ll only set you back much further.
Strengthening hips and glutes seem to be the solution, however it will take a long time. Like a year of regular PT.
I use single leg squats, and rubber band (between the ankles) exercises.
I sent this as a PM to someone on this forum who was having issues.
I’ve gone through this for 4 damn years. I’m a top 5% swimmer in my races and top 10% cyclist, but im so far behind on running because of this injury and it affecting me every year.
I’ve tried EVERYTHING. Every google search you’ve done i’m sure I’ve done too.
i went on a ridiculous rest, strength and stretching program. I probably have some of the strongest hips and glutes on slowtwitch. lol. Side leg lifts, squatting over 200lbs, deadlifts, single leg squats, clamshells, band walking, abductor and adductor exercises, and a ton of stretching – I even changed my desk at work from a sitting desk to a standing desk.
The pain went away all year, I was so happy… best training i’ve ever had…
Until my first half ironman where 10k in it came right back, and I gutted it out in incredibly pain with a 2:05 split and it ruined my year. I was so furious.
It was then I realized i had to change something. It couldnt be strength or stretching, i can’t get any better at those.
It was because of the way i run when my legs get fatigued. It was the only answer I could think of
The other day I saw this blog post, and thought it was pretty good
http://www.informrunning.com/2014/11/itb-pain-solutions-inform-running/
Yes, that site is selling something but please ignore that.
If you read what he talks about (its not friction, strengthening or stretching), but the fatigue state of the running, and a change in running form, this is what finally helped me.
i keep my legs more infront of me with an earlier knee/foot lift (i imagine a glass wall behind me and dont allow my foot to break it). The way i followed through when tired was somewhat ‘lazy’ and i kind of dragged my foot infront of me which used the IT band slightly, just enough to do it thousands of times and make it hurt.
to get the feeling of the technique, i practice running fast uphill, it’s a similar feeling in form mechanics with more knee drive infront of me, not behind me.
I just thought I’d mention this to you. IT bands are such a bitch and maybe yours IS to do with strength and stretching, but this is what helped me. I still do the strengthening of hips/glutes, but i don’t stretch or foam roll anything to do with my IT band anymore.
good luck!
I hurt my IT band 10 days before Boston a couple years ago. I was freaking out, couldn’t walk without a limp afterwards. I had ITBS a few years previous and it lasted for 6 solid weeks where I couldn’t run, so I thought all my training was a waste and I was done.
Looking back at my training log:
Day 1 - I rode for a couple hours without pain. I then foam rolled the crap out of my IT band and made matters worse. (My advice…skip the foam roller at this point, you will just inflame things more)
Day 2 - Rest, IT band hurt just walking around because of the stupid roller.
Day 3 - 1.5 hour ride without issue.
Day 4 - 50 min swim and then did 20 mins on the mill at a fairly easy pace. Not pain free, but didn’t cross the point I felt I should stop.
Day 5 - An hour easy ride.
Day 6 - 30 mins at at easy pace outside, flat with no hills. Again some pain, but it warmed up a bit and never got worse during run.
Day 7 - 40 min spin and 45 min swim.
Day 8 - 20 min jog, still not gone but not feeling terrible. Thinking I should be able to suffer though if I get to mile 20.
Day 9 - 15 min ridiculously easy jog just checking out Boston Common and wishing I didn’t still feel a dull ache, but it did go away after about 10 mins.
Day 10 - Race, felt a little tightness as I jogged to my corral. Cannon went off, didn’t think about the entire race, finished with a respectable time and felt good.
I was stretching my hips every day during this time. I didn’t bother with exercises because I knew I wouldn’t be able to strengthen anything but I knew I could get some additional flexibility, it is almost strange how fast that comes.
That is just my story, but with 2 weeks…don’t push it, cross train, and try to enjoy the taper…you shouldn’t be running all that much anyway.
Strengthening hips and glutes seem to be the solution, however it will take a long time. Like a year of regular PT.
I use single leg squats, and rubber band (between the ankles) exercises.
I stumbled across this rehab routine on youtube when mine flared up, stopped running for a couple of weeks and did this routine during that time, helped nearly immediately. Not sure about taking a year of time. Guess it depends on how bad it is…
Foam rolling every day before and after running if possible…
+1 what he said.
Foam rolling every day before and after running if possible…
+1 what he said.
+2
Every runner should have a foam roller, they are a neat piece of kit.