Anyone ever hurt their IT band?

I've had chronic IT band problems since college,when I ran cross-country and track.
Swimming,stretching and avoiding going down hills ( and running if you are having pain while running). Abductor/adductor exercises with weights or bands will help.
Along with chronic IT band knee pain many people develop hip pain. I have more trouble from my hips than my knees. For my hips, swimming, especially breaststroke is the best pain reliever for me, along with a topical cream which contains diclofenac and a bunch of other medications that soak into the area through the skin.
Steroid injections can be very helpful but I can't get them, due to a bone problem which was caused by steroids.

Sounds like sciatica pain. I would see a doctor.

I would think you should go see a doctor sooner rather than later. When you start having leg pain after sitting for a long time, it can be something serious.

Also, the IT Bands are on the outside of your legs and run from your hips to your knees.

If you haven't seen a doctor yet, that would be the place to start.

I'm with everyone who is saying it sounds more like sciatica than IT band. But then again, I'm not a doctor, so what do I know? You'll get a better idea of how to take care of your specific problem by seeing a medical professional, rather than asking the internet.

I'm an LMT, which of course is nothing compared to any specialist but I can tell you this. That's not IT Band syndrome. Although ITBS can cause some discomfort by the hip, because in part it can be caused by weak abductor muscles, the ITBS or ITBFS (the F stands for friction) is referred to a pain caused on the lateral or exterior side of the knee.

If the pain is located by the glute(s) down the back of the thigh extending to the leg, that's without question sciatic pain. What could be causing it? Many factors. The most common ones are lumbar problems like thoracolumbar fascia tension (basically what people refer to as the lower back "muscles"), and nerve entrapment (originating on the spine due to compressed disks because of the interspinal muscles, collapsing disks, herniated disks or by the evil piriformis muscle located underneath the glutes).

My suggestion is to not assume anything but to visit a doctor to get a proper diagnose of what's causing the pain.

Also, as a reference, muscle pain (although can cause referred pain, meaning pain somewhere else other than where the muscle is) is easy to identify because you can point where the pain is, and a muscle doesn't cover large areas like from the butt to the leg. Nerve related pain can't be pointed at, instead you would circle an area where the pain is, and you would use words like tingling, shocking, hot, numb, radiating to describe it.

And by the way, while most of the time stretching can help, since you don't know the actual cause of the pain, I wouldn't suggest you to do any until you see a doctor.

Doesn't sounds like an IT Band issue, sounds exactly like sciatica!

Your sacroiliac joint also has a ligament that can tear or get overstretched it causes low back,hip around to front area , its extremely painful. You cant stand up straight or roll over in bed. It also hurts more from sitting too. Ice and the chiro helped mine but i was not able to exercise for a full week.

Sounds like sciatica pain. I would see a doctor.

I agree.

I've got a horrible pain in the middle of my left butt cheek, and it radiates down the back of my thigh and around to the side of my left leg, up near the ankle.

I've been told I strained my IT band and was given stretches to do and told to hold off on vigorous exercise. I don't want to hold off on vigorous exercise.

Anyone ever done this? How long did it take to heal? What did you do?

This pain in the buttock sounds more like sciatic pain, maybe caused from a lower back issue. A few other possibilities,too. The fact that it goes down to your ankle is worrisome. Can you ask your doctor to order a low back MRI or at least X-ray and/or CT scan?
Make sure you I've your back and butt. Try some low back and piriformis stretches. Yoga might be helpful,too, for stretching and core strength.