Outside Knee Pain from IT Band

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pbl1966
pbl1966 Posts: 207 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Wanted to see if anyone has suggestions on what has helped them get past IT knee pain. I have good shoes that were professionally fit for me but sporadically have outside knee pain that prevents me from running as far as I would like. It basically stops when I stop running. I see no pattern as to when I am going to have trouble but it does seem to be taking longer before it sets in. It happens both with trail and street running. Am hoping to do my second 10K this Saturday and wondered if anyone has had luck wearing some type of support or band?

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  • ilovedeadlifts
    ilovedeadlifts Posts: 2,923 Member
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    have you tried foam rolling and stretching
  • Hottness4Lyfe
    Hottness4Lyfe Posts: 321 Member
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    I was having problems with mine and somebody told me to get a foam roller.... It hurts like the ****ens when you fisrt use it.....but it really helped to stretch and loosen up the muscles..



    Good Luck!
  • ltosoni
    ltosoni Posts: 74 Member
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    I'd like to know what I can do for this to, I have no pain at all when do any other kind of working out except when I start to run, I had to drop out of a 5K race I entered this past weekend because I knew it wouldn't be worth it. I do alot of strength training and have been told its because I have such tight muscles, need suggestions...
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
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    Foam roller = magic bullet!
  • Abells
    Abells Posts: 756 Member
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    I severely injured my IT band about 6 months ago ouchies!! Had to get a shot of cortisone cause I used up my PT on an ankle injury that same year.

    What I found to work really well as stated above was stretching and foam rolling. Sit on the ground, cross your ankle on you opposite knee (like the butt stretch) but gently push your knee to ground :)

    Also - build up the muscle in your quads and hammies to take some of the pressures off. Stretching has done wonders for me and I am back to where I was before the injury. I do however use a BOSU ball a lot too because I lost my balance ability and had to rework some things
  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
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    Working on your glutes is normally a key starting point, plus running form. Weak glutes and core mean you over compensate in other ways.

    Foam roller as suggested always a good first step with rest ice and compression too. If it's sporadic, it's probably not your running shoes because they remain a constant. where, how long and how you run can change each time and will affect your biomechanics.
  • sjcply
    sjcply Posts: 817 Member
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    I have had knee pain (inside tho) off and on since I started running. I ran a half marathon last month and tore my calf muscle so I have had to back off for a while. I ran my first time since my race 2 days ago and after resting 3-4 weeks my knee pain was gone : )
    For me it always flares up when I increase my mileage. But a few things I did to help during that time was rolling with a foam roller, properly stretching, icing, and I would tape my knee with KT tape. I have also used the cw-x tights, but prefered the KT tape over the tights.
    Good luck!
  • nora110
    nora110 Posts: 24
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    I do this stretch before and after, every time, always. I hold it for quite a while. My left IT band has always been my bugger, and if I consistently do this, it really seems to help.

    http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/itband.html
  • 4hotmama
    4hotmama Posts: 112 Member
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    I had this last summer, I had to take a few weeks off of running, I ended up doing alot of elliptical, also got a foam roller, and a support band whuch seemed to help- now I do not go w/o it on a long run. Also get those muscles massaged as much as possible.
  • cushygal
    cushygal Posts: 586 Member
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    I asked my trainer about this as I too suffer from very tight IT Band - she advised the foam rolling and it does hurt alot - but if you don't have access to a foam roller you can also use a tennis ball - just roll it up and down your outer thigh with a slight pressure.
  • pbl1966
    pbl1966 Posts: 207 Member
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    Thanks for all the suggestions, I have been streching some but will increase that and add in the foam roller.
  • Abells
    Abells Posts: 756 Member
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    Thanks for all the suggestions, I have been streching some but will increase that and add in the foam roller.

    Also go onto performbetter.com and check out "the stick"
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
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    Several things have helped me...

    Do exercises to strengthen the abductor/adductor muscles around the thigh, hip and glute. There are machines that put you in the right form but freeform moves like side leg raises, lateral bounds or skaters and even sumo squats

    Do exercises to strengthen lower back like the bridge/pelvic thrust, deadlift and supermans.

    Stretch hamstrings, thighs and glutes really well after working out.

    Rest

    ETA: When doing the typical quad stretch (standing, holding one foot behind your butt), I stretch in that position first then twist my foot slightly so that the heel is at my hip and the toe is at my well, crack (for lack of a better word) and this seems to really target the outside of the leg.
  • RosieWest8
    RosieWest8 Posts: 185 Member
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    I must get a foam roller too I guess.

    Ice and anti-inflammatory if it gets acutely bothered by something I've done. And a good healthy slather of Icy/Hot. =D


    Here's some stretches and strengthening exercises I've found make me feel better:
    http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=6099&PageNum=1

    I also will lay on my back and cross my leg (extended) over my body to the opposite side and just lay like that for a couple/few minutes if I can.
    http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tb8B4dNg1vs/0.jpg
    ---I don't quite make it to this exact position on my injured side, I only go as far as I can so I can feel the stretch without pain.

    and I also do this often:
    http://docsgolftips.com/images/stretch/stretch9a.jpg


    And I'm currently resting, no running or walking of any kind b/c I think my muscles were so inflamed they were 'catching' while I was making a forward motion with my leg.
  • persilcolours
    persilcolours Posts: 92 Member
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    bump

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