Time to post a new thread.

Each week I will be posting a new running injury post on this thread. During your running career you will become injured. That is just the nature of the beast. Being able to identify the injury and how to rehabilitate and heal it will help you as you continue on to becoming the stronger, better you. The first topic of discussion will be Iliotibial-Band Syndrome.

Note: I am not a doctor, and all articles that will be posted will include a reference to it. As with any injury, please seek the medical advice from your family doctor, as these are simply informational posts.

Iliotibial-Band Syndrom

Anatomy Lesson
Your iliotibial band (ITB) is a ligament-like structure that starts at your pelvis and runs along the outside of your thigh to the top of your shinbone (tibia). When you run, your ITB rubs back and forth over a bony outcrop on your femur, which helps stabilize it.

Band Aid
If you have poor running mechanics or muscle imbalance, put on weight, or started running hills, then your ITB can track out of line, slipping out of the groove created by the bony outcrop.

Swelling
As it tracks out of its natural alignment, it rubs against other structures inyour leg, creating friction on the band. This results in inflamation (but no swelling) and a click when you bend your knee.

Hold up
The scarring thickens and tightens the ITB, and limits the blood flow to it. If you continue to run, you'll feel a stinging sensation. This can make you limp after a run.

Cause and Effect
Why it happens and how to spot it.

What causes it?
According to research in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, these are the roots of the problems:
>>Inadequate warmup before running.
>>Increasing distance, running too quickly, or excessive downhill running.
>>High or low arches in your feet that cause your feet to overpronate.
>>Uneven leg length.
>>Bowed Legs.
>>Excessive wear on the outside heel edge of a running shoe.
>>Weak hip abductors.
>>Running on a banked surface, such as the shoulder of the road or track.

Spot it!
According to Australian performance coach Carlyle Jekins, you're a likely ITB sufferer if you experience one of the following signs:
>>A sharp or burning pain on the outside of the knee. The symptoms may subside shortly after a run is over, but will return with the next run.
>>You feel tenderness on the outside of your knee if you apply pressure, especially when bending.
>>You may have problems standing on one leg on the affected side, usually due to a weak gluteus medius.

How to rehabilitate it:
Decrease your training load by 50% and apply the principles of R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression and elevation), then use some of these:

Donkey Kicks
1. Get on all fours, resting your body weight on your knees and flattening your forearms on the floor into a position similar to that of The Sphinx.
2. Keep your right knee bent as you slowly lift your right leg up behind you to your foot rises toward the ceiling.
3. Hold that position for one second, then slowly return to the start. Perform four sets of 12 reps on each leg.
>>This move strengthens your gluteus maximus and medius, which are vital at keeping your ITB strong.

Laying ITB stretch:
1. Sit on the edge of a bench or firm bed. Lay your torso back and pull the unaffected leg to your chest to flatten your lower back.
2. With your affected leg flat to the bench, maintain a 90-degree bend in that knee. Shift that knee as far inward to the side (towards the other foot) as possible.
3. Hold that position for 30 seconds and repeat four time on each leg.
>>The ITB is difficult to elongate, as it doesn't have nerves that allow you to feel if you're actually stretching it. You might not feel this move in the band but it does isolate it.

Side Laying Clamchell
1. Lie on your side, bending knees and hips to 90 degrees. Wrap a resistance band around your thighs.
2. Lift your top knee up towards the ceiling, making sure that the insides of both feet stay together.
3. Perform 10 to 15 reps, or until you get a burn in the outside of your hip.
>>This move works your gluteus medius (on the outer surface of the pelvis). This muscle prevents your thigh from buckling inward when you run, which is the root of ITB aches.

How long is recovery?
>>Mild: 2-4 weeks
>>Average: 7-8 weeks
>>Severe: 9-24 weeks

Sourse: Willey, David. Runner's World Complete Guide to Running. Emmaus, PA, 2013. Print.