What is the protocol for IT problems… My pain is on the side of the right knee. I have CDA coming up and had my runs up to 2.5-3 hours… I am pretty mechanically sound and have been video taped. I think I over did it on a 3 hour run, my muscles got tight around the hips and my knee flared up. I can run now about 40 minutes until the pain starts to set in.
I did have some ART work on it but it seem to hurt it more.
I got a roller and have been rolling, working trigger points and stretching.
I am ok biking and swimming… Should I replace my running with extra swimming and biking and take a few weeks off to heal…
This is a bummer now that I am getting close to my CDA Ironman race. It looks like I should bite the bullet take a few weeks off from running and try to build up to as much as I can handle before the race.
For IT I found that a pair of orthodics can be a huge help. I did some PT, which probably equated to nothing more than a good massage, spent a lot of time on the foam roller, and took some advil. Everything helped…some, but the orthodics were a nearly immediate solution. I have custom orthodics now, but initially just got into some Superfeet, and even that helped quite a bit.
I tried rest for sometime and first run back the IT was still there.
There are lots of smart people here, so opinions may vary, but I have lots of ITB experience, unfortunately. I have had problems off and on for the last 3 years, but this last episode since September 2003 has been the worse–pain in left ITB while biking, which is strange. Excrutiating pain–couldn’t turn pedals over after 10 miles.
Anyway, all the stretching and exercises I’d done in the past to fix ITB running pain didn’t help. Went to the chiropractor. Whatever she did WORKED and I was able to bike 16 miles in steep hills with no pain 5 days later, then on for later rides of 58 miles and 70 miles–no pain. She said my pelvis was out of whack and that was making my legs uneven. Whatever. She fixed me. I also figured out the problem is stemming from tight hip flexors, which you mentioned having, so keep those stretched out good.
It worked for me, so if you have a bone cracker you can trust, give it a shot.
I have had IT band problems in the past - usually due to overdoing it. I recommend a few weeks of no running, and get some PT stuff like ultasound, electrical stimulus, and cortisone cream. Obviously do some stretching and the roller or tennis ball is good. You might want to ask Julie for advice over at julstro.com on her forum. Advil or some other NSAID would help the inflamation but check with your Dr. Good luck.