I think they call it the I.T. band that goes from the Hip down past the knee into the leg. I was wondering if anyone has ever had this injury and what they did to recover from it. It hurts on the outside legiment of my knee. I understand it’s an “overtraining” type injury. I had it before about 3 years ago and rested for a full three months and it got better. I don’t really want to go that long again without training, so I’m hoping there is an alternative to absolute rest for 12 weeks! Any advice is appreciated.
stretching helped my itb issue. i tried the foam roller thing but that did not help to much. this is a stretch a pt gave me and the pain (and it was bad pain) went away in a couple of days and that was 2 years ago.
to stretch your left leg: stand with your legs together and your body erect. take your right leg and cross it over your left, pplace your feet right next to each other and flat on the ground. slowly bend over and try to touch your feet. hold for a few seconds. then slowly come up and then stretch the other leg. repeat a couple of times throughout the day. do this stretch before you run.
you should feel the stretch mostly in your butt area and some in your hami. some how this fixed my itb issue. hope it helps.
Do a search on this forum.
Iliotibial Band
IT band problems
You’ll get more than a few hits.
Here’s something in the meantime:
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2000/02_00/fredericson.htm
Cheers. I’m not running for a month due to mine.
I tried physical therapy (it helped some), new shoes (mine were well past their due date…this helps in a more preventive sense), stretching after each run (more preventive), icing after long runs (works well to stave it off)that IT Band strap (useless in my case) but the single best thing I had done to fix it was Active Release Therapy at the chiropractor.
- Ice 3+ times a day
- Lay off running for a day or two
- Stop running when you feel it hurting
- Aim for smaller runs till it heels
- Lay on your back, legs bent, feet flat on floor, pull your lower leg across your other knee, rock back and then stay still during stretch while both of your hands are clasped together pulling your knee that you are not stretching, hold stretch 30 seconds.
- QUIT RUNNING DOWNHILL SO MUCH!
I just got done rehabbing mine and it is better and I am back to running 5 and 6 miles.
I do not know if anyone else has had success with massage therapy on the IT band, but it was almost miraculous for me. Don.
Recent posts on IT Band Syndrome last week or so…
I was wondering if anyone has ever had this injury and what they did to recover from it.
Probably half of us!
Short term-stop running. Consider ART or some kind of similar massage.
Long term-address the root cause of the IT problem. I have become more and more convinced that it can be a symptom of another problem or it can be an isolated problem on its own.
Best of luck.
Bernie
First do a search on slowtwitch. There is a ton of info.
Does cycling bother it? I found moving my cleat out a bit helped. Lowering my saddle helped too.
Rest, ice, anti-inflamatories, stretches are good too.
I have had 2 bouts with it this year-always before a key race. Last time it tooks 3 weeks of rest (swim only-do not push off withthat legs either)
I feel for you, good luck.
An orthopod/triathlete (sub 10h IM) recommends laying on your side, with your legs hanging off the bed, fro the hips down. Have your affected leg on top and the other leg slightly forward of the affected one. (I hope that’s clear.) Lower the affected leg as far as it can go, then raise it as high as you can. Then lower it again, slowly, as far as you can. Repeat 10-20 times.
Also, make sure you are using a high cadence on the run (180/min.)
a major cause of ITBS is muscle imbalance in th effected leg. What has helped me is the stretch mentioned earlier (the standing side-bend one) and also a few exercises such as leg press, leg extension, and leg curl. Another problem leading to ITBS is weakness in the gluteus medius.
To strengthen the glut. med. do this exercise: if your right leg is the affected leg, lay of your left side, perpendicular to the ground. then lift your right leg at a 45 degree angle backwards. Not straight up, not straight back, but at that 45 degree angle. You should feel it at the very base of your back/very top of your butt.
Hope that makes sense. Read the website a few posts ago, I think there are a few photos showing how to do it.
Thanks so much for the info. I will try these stretches and see what happens. I can’t figure out why it happened this time. I had trained for IMF for 6 mos with no flare ups. Then at mile 100 on the bike I felt it start to flare up. By the time I got to mile 6 of the run I was in serious pain. I’m sure finishing the last 20 miles was not exactly beneficial to recovery but what other choice did I have? DNF and walking didn’t seem like and option at the time. I don’t know who else is like me, but biking actually agitates it more than running. Oh well at least I know there plenty of others who have had good luck with rehab.