Before I loose my sanity

ls_66

I need some ideas on how to tackle IT band, been sidelined for almost 4 weeks and is driving bananas.. gained 10 pounds... and miss my run, so far I have been using the roller pre and after biking (recumbent bike), ice after light workouts, specific IT band warmups (lay on the ground side ways) pull your leg up and then backwards.. so far nothing seems to work.... biking seemed to work for a while until I realized the pain was back..
Dr. x rayed the knees and so no issues... he recommends light to no workouts for 15 days and anti inflammatory meds...

beeblebrox82

I had the same problems, excessive ITBS, couldn't run more than a few miles. Bought a foam roller and rolled them out for a few days. Was one of the most excruciatingly painful things I've ever done to myself. Roll slowly from your hip to the knee, stop on knots and work them slowly, whatever you can stand. It hurts.

I after a few times of this I was able to start to increase my mileage again, I would run until it start to hurt, stop, ice and relax, and roll them out again later in the day after a stretch, or a cross training workout.

After few weeks I was back to full mileage and haven't really had a problem since (this was about 250 miles ago last summer) Not sure if I just had to "get over the hump" and work them loose, or if I changed my form somehow.

I do still occasionally roll them if they get a little sore, and they've never stopped me from running since. I'm no doctor but it worked for me!!

camrunner

I had something going on with my quad/ITB/knee region earlier this year. I'm not 100% sure that it was ITBS, which I have had before, since it responded differently to treatment attempts, but the symptoms were basically the same.

Eventually I found that I had one particularly sore spot on my quad -- my vastus lateralis -- which I always noticed when I was foam rolling, but just working it with the roller was evidently not enough. I spent over a month resting, taking NSAIDS, stretching and foam rolling to absolutely no avail. One fateful day I was playing med student at home and read a few things about trigger points. It sounded like they respond really well to deep tissue massage, so I thought I'd give that a try. I subjected the sore spot to all kinds of horrible abuse, starting with my hands, then a lacrosse ball, and eventually a small hammer... within a couple of days I was able to start running again. It took maybe a week for my symptoms to go away entirely.

This might be a "don't try this at home" story, but hey, it worked for me.

DavidMartinez2

1. Foam roller 2. Stretchy-bands around you ankles, lie on your side, 10 leg lifts per side every night before bed.

ChaseAlder

I had ITB Syndrome in boh knees during basic training and Airborne school, apparently from running on uneven ground. Absolutely miserable. I agree with foam rolling (which I didn't know about back then) and when you do run, really focus on stretching your hips. The problem, I was told, is the muscle in the hip is pulling up, so you feel it straining to keep hold in the knee. That's why your knee hurts.

Roll it out, ice it up, rest. Stretch your hips really well before each run. Give it some time before you're back on it again. I had to rest a couple weeks for mind to go away.