I was just wondering if anyone has used or knows much about the Patt Strap that is used to help ITBS. I read about it on an information page on ITBS. There were some reviews (from people unrelated to the company who manufactures the strap) that say some pretty positive stuff about the use of the Strap. I know the underlying problem still needs to be adressed but I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts…
“the underlying problem still needs to be adressed”
see above…
Worthless - see prior post for correct answer.
The Patt Strap is a band aid. Your running style has to change or you will always have it band problems. Most likely you are a heel striker. You need to change that. Every time your heel strikes two things happen. First you put on the brakes and second that shock wave from the contact shoots up your leg to your knees and the IT Band. Change your running style to land midfoot. It takes time and effort to change something so engrained in your nervous system as running, but once you get it, it is great! Check out www.chirunning.com or www.posetech.com. Both are good, ChiRunning is better. It will make running a pain free fun time again for you.
Enjoy.
That’s a huge overstatement I think. You don’t necessarily need to change away from being a heel striker, though that may be something you might look at at some point. Millions of people run and are heel strikers and don’t have ITBS. I would first work on doing the “standard” ITBS stretches. Depending on your case, doing that and other simple remedies may clear things up for you. If that doesn’t work then it would be time to try other things.
Wasted Money Khristine.
I suffered from ITBS for a long time .
After trying everything the one common factor in developing the pain is improper muscle balance.
Of course , there are other issues…improper stretching,wrong shoes, dramatic mileage increase.
Work on your core muscles…TFL,Psoas,Piriformis,Quads,Glutes and Hip Abductors.
This is the architecture of your lower body.
If you have weakness in any of these…it causes the IT Band to absorb too much of the load,plus, your hips get thrown off during hills and declines.
Take a Pilates class to learn all these groups as they emphasize the core.
You also want to learn about using a Pressure release ball,a tennis ball will work too,.and get rid of all the spasms built up in your legs and IT Band.
Its worth it,as its been 3 years since my ITBS…and have never had a bout of it again.
You need to strengthen your ITB. It stretches up to a point but breaks down under stress; that is when you have symptoms.
I suffered from ITB in both knees for 10 years until I read about a simple strength-building exercise on letsrun.com. It is basically the old Jane Fonda aerobic move where you lie on the floor on your side and support your head with your hand and lift your leg in a scissors-type action. What this does is strengthen the ITB at the hip which is where the problem really starts even tho most folks first notice knee pain.
Start with 2 sets of 10 each on each leg and work up to 3 sets of 20 on each. Supplement this with stretching after the leg lifts. In a few months you will notice the difference and will not need Cho-Pats, orthotics or the like.
I went from never being able to hold more than 30 mpw running and breaking down in IM marathons to holding 50 mpw for 8 weeks and getting a 5 year half mara best after clearing up my ITB with this methodology alone. I started the leg lifts in Aug 02 and ran my half mara best in March 03. I have not had ITB issues since.
good luck.
I’ll second the “Jane Fonda” recommendation. I do 3 X 30 reps with each leg 2-3 times per week and my ITBS problems have vanished. I also do more strectched in the hip and glute area which is where my problems stem from (although all the pain was on the outside of my knee),
I tried the Cho-Pat strap and it did nothing for me…if anyone wants mine, they can have it for $5.
**Running Shoes, by **Paul Talbot
I’ve been thinking a lot about the training shoe question lately. If we look at the shoes from the early 70’s and earlier, they were no more than what we today would consider racing flats and people put in 100+ mile weeks in them, no problem (and they were probably faster 100 mile weeks as well). If we look at the days of interval training, we’ll find distance runners getting in 100+ mile weeks on the track in spikes!
Gordon Pirie (former 5,000 WR holder) argued that 70% of running injuries today are directly attributable to the poor running shoes of today that force people to run incorrectly (and that correct running is injury free).
In his book, “Marty Liquori’s Guide for the Elite Runner,” Liquori states that before the market became dominated by shoes aimed at the common jogger, achilles tendon problems were virtually unknown.
Lydiard advocated training and racing in the lightest shoes possible.
Modern shoes force most people to run in a particular way. They are designed to reduce pronation, force a heel strike, “protect” the ankle or achilles tendon, etc. If you run barefoot you will find that a) it is nearly impossible to land on your heel, the natural motion is ball of the foot strike or flat footed strike, and b) there is no noticible pronation.
The heel-strike character of most running shoes is troublesome. First, the heel is not a natural shock absorber. Your arch, and foot are the first areas of shock absorption while the achilles and calf muscles control pronation. Furthermore, landing flat footed allows for the knee to come over the foot and bend more quickly which allows the legs to take up more of the shock absorption. Some studies have actually shown that barefooted running is more shock absorbent than running in common running shoes. Secondly, because most shoes are designed for a heel-strike, they build up the “cushioning” under the heel. While this undoubtedly helps absorb some of the shock that jars your leg bones while heel-striking, the build up of cushioning under the heel also elevates the heel. This can have a shortening effect on the achilles and calf which can make it more prone to injury. The build also reduces stability. This is often compensated for by other gadgets in the shoe which try to hold the heel firmly in place and reduce the pronation (which is a way the body reduces shock). Unfortunately, this places more and more burden on the achilles and calf to control the foot when it hits the ground.
Lets remember that the shoe industry is based on the average, overweight, weekend jogger and not the serious runner. I don’t mean to trash the entire shoe industry here, some models are very good, but at the same time lets realize that many of the injuries of today were rare 25 years ago and can be attributable to the shoes of today.
For many – perhaps most – a light, simple shoe that tries to do the least may be the best.
Incidentally, the best “cure” for any lower leg injuries has always been, for me, to run a few miles barefoot on grass. This has worked for me for shin splints and plantar fascia problems.
Many are sure to disagree with what I’ve said here, that’s fine, but I thought I’d put forth one perspective for people to think about.