IT band... Do you have an experience or advice to share?

You can get an IT band support strap for pretty cheap, but I was advised not to wear it if you can avoid it so as not to become dependent on it.

Ice, ibuprofen, and a foam roller will be your new best friends.

To solve the problem for good, you probably need to strengthen your hip flexors and glutes, which are common problem areas for runners.

I had IT band pain during training for my first half marathon but it was up at the outside of the hip and not at the knee. I'm pretty sure it came from ramping up mileage too quickly :frown:

It was so sore after the race I didn't run for a year...

Take care as you know how... ice, elevate, ibuprofen... stretch, mileage increases of no more than 10% per week... good taper before your race. You're getting close...

Bump !

foam roller, YOGA!!

I pretty much had to stop running from a really bad IT band issue. I couldn't walk even. Now I walk well but use a foam roller and stretch a lot. Tight hamstring cause problems too

Beat thing is a foam roller and chiro if you can afford it. Chiro helped me much more than doctors and PT but then again, no more running for me either (degenerative discs, not worth it).

2 big things you need to look at are flexibility and strength.

If your IT band is tight - a common culprit is low back/hamstring/piriformis tightness. So yes - FOAM ROLL!! But also work on stretching. When you use a foam roller, it works to loosen the myofascial tissue that surrounds a muscle, while stretching works on the muscle fibers themselves. Generally, although you may be feeling the pain around your knee, more often that not the majority of the IT band tightness is actually up towards your hip where the IT band originates. The pain is felt down by the knee because the fibers are more concentrated as they cross the femoral condyle. Be careful that you don't roll too much on the area of pain because it can irritate the tissue even more. Work the entire IT band!

Then look towards a strength imbalance. For example, in theory your hamstrings should be about 80% of your quads. IE if you can do a single leg knee extension with 100 pounds - then you should be able to do a single leg hamstring curl with 80 pounds. In my medical experience - this balance is rare!!!!! But, it's something to look at.

I ran my first half marathon in May of last year. I felt fine afterwards but the next morning when I went to get up from the breakfast table I felt a sharp pain on the outside of my right knee. After several doctors appts. I was told that it was my I.T. band. I completed physical therapy and am in it a second time. I have yet to fully recover. I can only run about 2 miles without the pain. When I walk (briskly at 4.5-5.0) I am fine.....I start to jog or run.....PAIN. I am currently working on strengthening my hamstrings and was told that I need to stretch and use a foam roller daily. I made the mistake of not cross training during the time before the race. I was so concerned about my miles. Now I am paying for it but not giving up!
I alternate days of jogging/walking with riding a stationary bike at the gym. I make sure I complete my stretches and I have also included strength training. Good luck. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.

This helped mine tremendously. That and cut back on mileage for a bit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0e8FPL787E

Foam roller has already been mentioned many times... you can look online to see how to target your entire ITB (and, yes, it will hurt!).

What worked for me was acupuncture - I had never tried it before, but when I first felt my ITB flaring up when training for my marathon, I had acupuncture done by a medical doctor and I never felt it again.

Also, I used to have major ITB issues years ago, even when running in shoes for which I had been fitted, but I've had way less issues running in minimalist shoes (vs. the more structured ones the running store recommended). I'm most definitely not trying to start the great shoe debate here, but it seemed to help me, so thought I'd suggest it.

In any case, best of luck to you with your ITB! Hope it heals up quickly.

I got rid of IT band pain by getting a couple of massages and chiropractic treatment -- the massage gave me the most relief -- if you can afford one or two it may help.

Exactly what I was going to suggest! As a former massage therapist that specialized in orthopedic massage aka Orthomassage (all the chronic pain stuff) I would first go with the chiro and massage, if you can't afford that, get a foam roller. Most of the time the problem starts with an injury resulting in a trigger point (balled up muscle fibers that have scarred). Massage therapists locate the trigger point, get rid of that, release the surrounding tissue. From there the problem is usually fixed. Although if there is muscle imbalance, then you'll want to see a PT. PTS usually start with the imbalance and never get to the underlying problem.

How do you know if you have a trigger point? If there is a certain area in your IT band (and it runs from your butt to your hip bone to the tibia and it's just a big band of thick white connective tissue and tendons) feel around on it, press on the area with fairly deep pressure - if you have someone that can do this to you with their elbow it'll be much quicker. You'll know you're getting close when the pressure nearly sends you off the table or whatever you happen to be laying on. The actual trigger point will refer pain to another area- say your butt, hip bone, front of your thigh, or even to your shin area. And it may not be actual pain but it will feel maybe more like someone is poking you in that other area.

The way I always explained to my clients what a trigger point is, ... think of a sweater or blanket with a bunch of seperate strands running all different directions... what happens if you pull and pull just one strand? It puckers somewhere else. That results in the muscle being in a somewhat contracted state, constantly and just kind of stuck. It can't fully relax. Thus resulting in the rest of your muscles compensating for this contracted muscle. Throws your whole body out of alignment. I'm willing to bet one shoulder is higher than the other (even though it 'feels' like you're standing straight), one hip bone is higher than the other, your pelvis tilted either forward or back.

Seek chiropractic and massage therapy first. Ask the chiro for a recommendation. Someone that specializes in sports massage. Save the relaxing massage for birthdays, anniversaries, and valentines day.

Hope this helps.