Tight IT band syndrome

carrieous

i made an appt with a doctor finally about my knee though after speaking with friends and doing some research, it seems pretty clear my problem is a tight IT band from overuse.

Has anyone had this issue/injury before? Is seeing a doctor even worth my time? Wont he just tell me to do the same stretches and exercises I found online?

If you have had a tight IT band issue and saw a dr, what did he prescribe??

cheshirecatastrophe

Once upon a time I wound up my IT bands (both of them) so badly I couldn't even walk. I was curled up on my parents' couch crying from the pain.

I went through PT--not just the exercises online--and yes, I found it helpful. The PT had some equipment for stretches and strength training above and beyond the bodyweight and foam roller stuff that is doable and affordable at home. The single best thing, though, was the electrical stimulation. I understand now you can buy at-home machines for this, too, but you couldn't then. It was absolutely *instrumental* in getting the tendons and muscles to relax to a point where the stretches and strengthening could have some impact. Seriously. I'd been going for a couple months with no progress, she hit on the idea of trying the TENS (I think that is the acronym), and within a week I was walking around with no limping and no neoprene straps holding my leg muscles in place.

Now I do the MYRTL exercises along with a couple others the PT showed me (mostly hip hikes, some sideways walking with a resistance band), and I haven't had problems since.

ETA: I swear my IT bands just started aching with the memory. Gonna have some fun time with my foam roller before bed.

acksaysbillthecat1

An article that just came out in our paper 2 days ago said that the whole foam roller thing directly on the IT band doesn't work, that actually one must work the muscles above the IT band. The IT band is by definition a tight tissue. Basically you don't stretch the tendons and ligaments, you stretch the muscles around/between those body parts.