The thought just occurred to me - could this work? Could I be racing on sunday?
I’m in miami now.
Not a doctor but from my experience with ITB the knee isn’t causing your pain. If you want to race get a few sessions of ART to release your hips which is most likely causing the tightness and a Cortisone Shot on the area of inflammation at your knee to help relieve the pain to a level where you can race.
With the right amount of localized pressure, you may be able to reduce your symptoms enough to race. As said above, the problem isn’t your knee, it’s the tightness of your IT band. That won’t be solved by a simple brace. You need to have a merciless PT get in there and work out the adhesions along the band and loosen up the muscles around the insertion points (primarily the upper thigh and hip).
Only you can answer the cost/benefit aspect of racing. If you don’t have too much invested in the race, it may be worth passing on the race and focusing on a solution right away. Racing may exacerbate the situation and vastly prolong your recovery time.
Brace won’t help.
If I remember from a previous thread you’re trying to qualify for the New York Marathon with a half marathon this weekend?
If this is you’re last opportunity to qualify this year. You can go for it, run the pace you need and see what happens. Or you can rest and take sometime to find the cause of your ITB problems.
Correct.
After this race, I have a 6 week swim/bike ONLY block anyways, do I figure, give it everything, since I won’t be running for a little while anyways.
Sound logic or is 6 weeks not enough recovery time?
Don’t waste your time or money on braces and straps. i spent about 100 bucks on different things and nothing worked. Like previously stated, it’s probably not your knee. Look into hip flexor and TFL stretches. I went as far as to get a coritsone shot that did nothing for me. As soon as I started stretching my TFL, Glutes, and Hip Flexors, the problem went away. Also do 50 leg lifts each side off of a stair 2-3x’s a day. Good luck, I know it sucks. Caused me my only DNF ever.
Depends on how bad it is. But I would think 6 weeks is enough. And swimming and biking will both put stress on your ITB. Obviously pull sets won’t use your ITB.
If I were you, I would run the race understanding I might now finish. Definitely start off at pace or slower than pace you need. If you make to the end, empty the tank and go.
I would look up any stretches for ITBS and do those everyday for 12 weeks.
I would look up any exercises for ITBS and do those everyday for 12 weeks.
I would look up any exercises for the gluteus medius and do those everyday for 12 weeks.
And do the exercises to the point where you get a little burn but stop then. Hopefully you’ll find them difficult at first to keep form telling you it was probably your stabilizing muscles being weak which caused the ITBS and not something weird.
Pro-Tec makes the strap below. Personally, I have never had any success with it, but if you wanna give it a whirl, I guess it can’t hurt. As we have said, you gotta enter this race with the expectation that you very well may not finish.
Eeek! On more than one occasion, I’ve witnessed people running with four of those strappy things on - one above and below each knee.
You need to have a merciless PT get in there
I kept waiting for mine to show up in leather. My PT was really nice… until it was time to start breaking up the adhesions. Nothing like paying to have a woman make you cry.
Pro-Tec makes the strap below. Personally, I have never had any success with it, but if you wanna give it a whirl, I guess it can’t hurt. As we have said, you gotta enter this race with the expectation that you very well may not finish.
I have this brace and still use it. I’m in month 3 of recovery. It takes a bit of pressure off the ITB, but it won’t work until you are in the recovery phase. I use it on longer runs (over 8-9 miles).
I wore one of those straps at my last HIM and i got through the run pretty pain free except for 2 occasions when i had stabbing pain in the knee from having the strap to tight.
Get one in a pharmacy and race. HTFU you little pussy. GLHF.
As others have said, it depends.
Patt-straps have worked magic for me in the past, up to the IM distance, when my IT band was simply not cooperating. It can be done, if indeed what you are dealing with is your IT band…
I gotta say this…
Is this 1/2 mary worth years of future pain and frustration, because ITB isn’t something to “train through” or play around with.
I come from long athletic background – running, ultras, tris, Ironman, adventure races, etc. In 2003 I won a long adventure race… felt invincible. I probably ramped up the training a little too quickly afterwards and my ITB flared up. I did what you’re doing – ice and go back out to run… or straps, or rollers, whatever. I tried to “train through” the injury and it almost cost me my running FOREVER. I’m not being melodramatic – I seriously thought I had tried everything and might never run again.
Ultimately, it took months of complete rest AND months of rehab (cold laser therapy, TriggerPoint Roller, hip and glute strengthening, etc.) and while I am able to compete “okay” again, I am probably only at about 85% of what I “used to be.”
Don’t screw around with this or you might be kicking yourself for a long, long time.
Ray
As always, the old adage “YMMV” certainly applies.