[jason_1222]

Hi,

Just need some thoughts on this one. I've been suffering with ITB for a long time now! I have been to a sports injury clinic and have had 8-9 weeks from doing any running atall and only doing stretches and excersises. I have now been told to start back into running slowly so I have done two 2 mile jogs this week and I can feel the pain coming back!? I'm starting to lose hope now! This is after having had 6 weeks off before christmas for the same problem! Any thoughts on what I should do next?

 

[R10RY D]

I have just been diagnosed with this.I have been managing with it for approx 6-9 months and finally went to GP today as fed up with it. It started to keep me awake at night,and oh boy I need my sleep ! So time for action. I have been having physio once a month through my employer but was told by physio I needed 2-3 times a week to be beneficial.In short I have had a cortisone injection in my left side and will be resting up for next week.He said to go back and see him in a week if not better.He also informed me I have a hernia. Great ! Have done some research on line and it all points to this.He is also arranging some additional physio.
Hope this helps a bit.

 

[Steady Edwina]

I had this painful condition when I first started running and didn't runn at all for about 3 months. For me I had to get my biomechanics under control, which meant I was prescribed with some orthoses but these do not work for everyone. I t took a long time to reover and I had to start from scratch again using run/walk technique.

It still bothers me from time to time particularly if I've been running on lots of cambered roads or running down lots of steeps hills. There are straps you can buy but I never found they helped me and ibuprofen never seemed to touch it.

Are you doing an specific strengthening exercises such as clam shells or lateral leg raises and make sure you hold all your stretches for at least 30 seconds. At its worst I was stretch 4 or 5 times a day and having regualr massage sessions. It also had some chiropractic treatment as well - it must have cost me a fortune

 

[sturunner]

Excuse my ignorance but what is ITB? i typed it inot google and it provided a load of details about Pensions.

 

[ReluctantRunner]

ITB sucks and is extremely painful, I had it for months and was going for acupuncture every second day until a friend of mine suggested trying a podiatrist. He measured my legs and found one leg longer than the other which he rectified by making me a little wedge which goes in my shoe under the instep, took it away almost instantly and I've never had any other problem since.
I hope you find something that works...

 

[Steady Edwina]

Excuse my ignorance but what is ITB? i typed it inot google and it provided a load of details about Pensions.

ITB is the illiotibial band which is a long tendon that runs along the outside of your thign linking the hips to the knees. In ITBS (S stangs for syndrome) the band rubs the outer boney part of the knee and it becomes really inflamed. In worse cases the pain becomes so bad that you cannot run.

 

[spudly]

as SteadyE suggest, strengthening exercises are important in addition to stretching - stretching will only releive one aspect, you need to find the root cause for your particular case.
Start at the point of pain and work backwards asking why there is a problem.
e.g.
symptom, hot pain in knee when running -
why? -ITB is tight causing friction on knobbly bit of knee.
Why is ITB tight? - too much rotation in gait cycle
why is there excessive rotation? - weakness in gluteus medius?
result, strengthen glutes.
this is just an example btw!!! weak glutes are common in runners tho'

orthotics are a common treatment to reduce control the rotation (as are stability/motion control shoes etc) though you should think of them as crutches, they will weaken muscles and were the cause of me getting ITBs (I beleive!)


sorry for long post, and for shortness of explanation, sneakily writing at work while everyone has a coffee!!!

 

[StandingMan]

Hello jason 1222 & R1ORY D

I'm not as clued up as some of the others on here. But as a past sufferer (fingers crossed) of ITBS here's my musings!

Sometimes it's the little things that cause ITBS.

Everyone bangs on about it, but get your gait checked at a 'proper' running shop. Try and avoid running along cambered surfaces. Stretch your IT Band before, during and after a workout or even whilst waiting for the kettle to boil. There's plenty of easy, instructional videos on YouTube that cost nothing to watch.

A few months ago i was having massive problems with ITBS( it's even on my RF profile ) but by eliminating all the probable causes it's rarely a problem now. As Reg Holdsworth used to say ''knowledge is power.''

 

[Ritchie]

Sorry if I'm stating something really obvious here (I'm new so be gentle), but I stretch my ITB with one of those foam rollers, lie side on and roll up and down the thigh. Used to be almost unbearable pain, but I can do it no problem now.

Have people heard of this stretch, and is it a good one??

Thanks in advance,
Ian

 

[Steady Edwina]

Yes but its more of a self masage technique. I know someone that used to that that with a rolling pin wrapped in tea towels.

 

[Ritchie]

Yes but its more of a self masage technique. I know someone that used to that that with a rolling pin wrapped in tea towels.

Thanks, can imagine that would be incredibly painful. I've bought quite a hard roller and to begin with it was absolute agony.

 

[Steady Edwina]

Thanks, can imagine that would be incredibly painful. I've bought quite a hard roller and to begin with it was absolute agony.

I've had mine stripped my a massage therapist which effectively is the same as your roller and she almost had me in tears

 

[jonp]

The best cure is not to push your foot down into the ground, and preferably don't stride out in front while you're there. . Once you have ITBS you can use all the massage stuff etc, but you really don't want to keep getting it.

 

[foreverjung]

Try The Stick

Hey, I used The Stick to sort out my ITBs before my last marathon and it was fantastic. Sure, nothing can replace a trained physio but sadly I don't live with one. After getting The Stick and applying its methods I found a drastic improvement and my training was far less impeded by pain within one week! Sure, sounds corny, but The Stick is the best roller ever! Has anyone else tried it?

 

[Steady Edwina]

No but I'm thinking of getting one as my ITB has been tightening during my marathon training.

 

[R10RY D]

I have just been diagnosed with this.I have been managing with it for approx 6-9 months and finally went to GP today as fed up with it. It started to keep me awake at night,and oh boy I need my sleep ! So time for action. I have been having physio once a month through my employer but was told by physio I needed 2-3 times a week to be beneficial.In short I have had a cortisone injection in my left side and will be resting up for next week.He said to go back and see him in a week if not better.He also informed me I have a hernia. Great ! Have done some research on line and it all points to this.He is also arranging some additional physio.
Hope this helps a bit.

Hi, I am back !
Well been on a roller coaster of a ride lately ! After all my groin problems have had a bi-latteral hernia repair (double hernia) two weeks ago. All aches in groin gone and no testicular pains.Wow what a relief. Went out for half mile jog last night with son and my body pulled me back a liitle just saying be carefull.

 

[almason]

This is a compelling exercise. I had to watch it a few times to actually focus on the stretch though.

Normally I just put one leg behind and on the opposite side of the body to the other and put my weight on it. So the right leg goes behind the left and to the left side of the body, then I'll lean on something on my right. Seems to work fairly well.