IT Band
geeksrule
Posts: 143 Member
Ran a half marathon the end of April and have been having mild stiffness in the back of my knee/IT band area since. I think I've been stretching enough - warming up then stretching out before setting off - and then stretching when done - foam rolling. I took a few weeks of no more than 8km runs after.
Once I get up to about 8 miles now I start feeling the stiffness - it's not painful but just like a tight muscle. It doen't hurt to walk/bend or anything else. I have been putting ice on it after.
I have just started the HH marathon training program but don't have any other races other than Warrior Dash in July on 1/2 marathon in October.
Suggestions or ideas would be appreciated of how to get my leg back to 100% .
Once I get up to about 8 miles now I start feeling the stiffness - it's not painful but just like a tight muscle. It doen't hurt to walk/bend or anything else. I have been putting ice on it after.
I have just started the HH marathon training program but don't have any other races other than Warrior Dash in July on 1/2 marathon in October.
Suggestions or ideas would be appreciated of how to get my leg back to 100% .
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Replies
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Grr, those IT bands can be a real pain. Is it an option for you to visit a physiotherapist or sports doc for a consult? I had some mild IT band issues and continued stretching, rolling, etc. and they ended up getting worse and worse, until I ended up unable to run. On my first visit with a physio, he tailored exercises to help the specific factors that were contributing to my IT band (in my case, it was a specific muscle imbalance issue), and while I did go back for a couple weeks for massage/electrotherapy to speed things along, I'm pretty sure I would have been fine with just those exercises if I had caught it early enough. I've been completely fine in the 5 months since, now that I've added those exercises to my warmup/cooldown routine.
Not saying that your IT band issue will progress like mine did (hopefully it doesn't), but I am now a firm believer in getting on top of a minor issue before it becomes a major one, so thought I'd throw that out there!
No matter what, hope you feel better!
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I ended up missing 6 weeks of running last year due to an IT band issue (had to walk the last 7km of my first half marathon......).
My massage e therapist had me running again after 2 sessions and taught me some IT band specific stretches (you can find them on RunnersWorld.com or RunningTimes.com) and encouraged me to use my foam roller after every run. So far so good.
Having said that, I'm not sure the description you gave sounds like your IT band. Your IT band runs down the outside of your leg and the pain normally manifests itself on the outside or bottom of your knee (you'll often fee a tightness down the side of your leg too) Behind the knee could be tendons or a hamstring injury.
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/cms/article-detail.asp?articleid=1214
It sounds like a visit to your physio or massage therapist may be in order to try and determine the cause of the pain and a strategy to get you fixed up.0 -
Go to a Physical Therapist to find out the root cause. Mine was a lack of flexibility and muscle imbalances. Once those were addressed the pain hasn't returned. ITBS is normally a result of other issues you have that put undue stress on the IT band. Fix the root cause and the pain will subside.0
