I was doing some research for allison1080 and came across some good information that I wanted to share with everyone.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome -
The dull ache initially starts in the beginning of my run and last the entire run. The pain goes away after I am done running. If I continue to run and don't take time off the pain is severe and prevents me from running. At that point downhills and uneven surfaces are the worst.
The IT band tenderness or inflammation is caused by form being off, lack of stretching worn shoes, excessive hill running, uneven surfaces, and/or overtraining.
There is a lot of information out there on self-treatment and medical treatment. My advice would be to stop running if it is severe pain or even mild. There are many times that I don't stop training even when it is mild and it becomes a bigger problem in the end.
I take IBU, ice my knee, use tiger blam cream, stretch, yoga, roll out on foam roller or straight PVC pipe. I am one to give advice on this and need to take it in myself. I am not perfect by all means, but please don't make the same mistakes I have made. It can be painful and takes longer to recover. I can say from personal experience it is so hard to stop running especially in the middle of my training. I have to remind myself that I can still swim and bike.. It is soooo important to take time off when IT Band pain starts to occur! I can't stress it enough!!!
Ice religiously..... stretch stretch stretch.... take something for inflammation.... AND DONT RUN
Hi Casey,
ReplyDeleteYou have some great advice on treating the IT band, or any injury for that matter. Being patient is by far the hardest thing for any endurance athlete to do. I applaud anyone that can restrain him or herself from running for any length of time!
I wanted to add some thoughts on treating the IT Band. With any injury, it is important to not only treat the symptoms but also identify, isolate and treat the cause of the problem. With the IT band, the pain and inflammation always occurs on the outside if the knee. However, as your picture shows, the IT band travels the entire length of the quad and connects in the hip. Most runners and cyclists I’ve worked with have very tight hips (there must be something about sitting on a bike seat for hours at a time ;).
Imagine the IT band to be a string that connects your inner hip muscle to you knee. When things are loose at the hip, the string is like spaghetti at the knee and freely moves over the outside of the knee. When the hip gets tight it pulls on this imaginary string and causes the portion of the IT band over the knee to become taut like a guitar string. The irritation is from the now taut IT band rubbing against the knee.
So, when you’re stretching and rolling out on the foam roller, make sure you pay some extra attention to the hips, glutes, and even your lower back. Have you ever used a tennis ball or softball on your hips/glute area? It is super painful, but one of the best ways to get rid of the tightness in your hips. Once you loosen up the chain from the start, the tension will start to dissipate around the knee.
Hopefully, this isn’t information you’ve heard before and it helps you and your friend out. Good luck!
Happy training,
Jeff