IT Band Syndrome: My Arch Enemy
I got addicted to long distance running a little over two years ago. I’ve run a handful of races; including a half-marathon in Temecula, CA that was one of the most gorgeous places I’ve had the pleasure of being tortured for 13.1 miles. About 9 months ago, while training for my first ever marathon, I was struck down by the most devious, fiendish, and perplexing injury known to the running community: IT Band syndrome.
What is IT Band syndrome? Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS) occurs when the iliotibial band, the ligament that runs down the outside of the thigh from the hip to the shin, is tight or inflamed. It causes knee pain so severe that ya can’t run farther than a mile without screaming.
So what’s the cure? THERE ISN’T ONE. At least, there’s no consensus on how to effectively treat the feisty bastard. Here is a list of ways that have helped ease the pain, and hopefully get rid of it for good. If I’m missing anything important, please, tell me, so I can be best friends with my IT Band again…
Current Favorite treatment: Stretching
Personally, stretching is the only thing that has resolved and kept IT Band syndrome at bay. Although, if it comes back again, I’ll cast stretching into the dreaded “Pit of False Hope.” A stretch I found on running.competitor.com got rid of IT Band syndrome last year, but not this year. It’s worth a shot:
“The simplest stretch is to lie on your back, bring your left knee up to your shoulder, and push your knee over to the right shoulder with the palm of your left hand. Hold for 20 seconds, and repeat five times.”
My new fad treatment is a series of stretches meant to loosen/stretch my hips. My hips are the tightest known to mankind. Seriously, I can’t get into a crosslegged seated position without my knees flaring up toward the ceiling. Here is a great video for loosening the hips. WARNING: YOU WILL DEFINITELY INJURE YOUR KNEES IF YOU FORCE YOURSELF INTO THESE STRETCHES. HOW DO I KNOW? I INJURED MY KNEE…so please be careful.
Glute Exercises
There’s a theory that weak glutes are responsible for summoning the Devil in knee-pain-form. As a result, I do glute exercises every other day at the gym. If it takes having buns the size of volleyballs to get rid of IT Band Syndrome, I’ll do it! Here’s a helpful video with some equally helpful glute exercises:
Foam Rolling
If you google “Please God help me get rid of IT Band Syndrome,” you’re bound to find dozens of websites, runners, and PT specialists that swear by foam rolling. I do think foam rolling helps most injuries, but in my experience, it didn’t do much for the I-to-the-B Syndrome. Foam rolling DOES keep my calves loose, so I’ll keep doing the rolling, no matter what.
Massage Therapy
Regular massages are also supposed to help prevent injuries. At a $100 for an hour, a man digging his elbow into your spine and lower extremities ain’t cheap. I’ll admit, I don’t get many massages to work tight/sore muscles (mostly because of the cost). In fact, a massage therapist recently told me my body was so tight that I looked like I had been injured in a car accident, due to the way my hips twisted. So, uh, yeah, if you have the money, get regular massages. Can’t afford massages? A massage therapist told me a great cheap therapy method: use a lacrosse ball to dig into the hard-to-get areas, like the glutes and hips.