IT Band?

[kaybee]

What does IT band syndrome feel like? I've been having a problem with one of my knees and haven't been able to run for a month because of it. I've also quit spin class. Riding my "real" bike is okay, as long as I stay away from the big hills. I've done the ice and ibuprofen routine. It quit hurting, but started again as soon as I ran two miles. Since I've never had an IB band problem, I don't know if what I'm feeling is actually that or something else. :confused:

KB

[bacarver]

I struggled with this years ago when I was in my 20's. I used to run back then and my knees rebelled. I had pain in different areas of my knees (mainly on the outside aspect though).
I was out for a run one day and my left leg suddenly went numb. Scary.
That was the end of my running and the beginning of cycling. I've been pain-free on my bike, thank goodness.
It did take years for my knees to heal. I limped and couldn't straighten them without causing pain.
I went to physical therapy, did the exercises, and complied with the recommendations, but the only thing that resulted in improvement was rest. The therapist is the one who told me I had IT band problems.
I hope that treatment options are more promising these days.
Barb

[Wahine]

IT band syndrome is very treatable when diagnoses properly. What that means is finding the cause of the syndrome not just giving it a title. There are multiple causes of ITBS, so you have to find the cause and treat appropriately. For eg, if the cause is faulty foot mechanics, treating just at the knee isn't going to do the trick, if the root cause is an irritated nerve in the back causing hip tightness, giving the person shoe inserts isn't likely to work.

ITBS symptoms:
- pain on the lateral aspect of the thigh to the knee, especially at the knee
- increased pain with activity
- *usually* stairs are very painful with going downstairs being worse that going up, runnign downhill is also typically very painful.

If there is numbness or tingling there is nerve involvement and the problem is not a simple case of ITBS. There is likely also a problem with nerve inpingement in the back or buttock areas.

In treatment you need to address foot mechanics (maybe Knottedyet will comment further on this), and stretching of the hip is very important. Often there are weak abdomenals and hip muslces that need strengthening as well.

[kaybee]

IT band syndrome is very treatable when diagnoses properly. What that means is finding the cause of the syndrome not just giving it a title. There are multiple causes of ITBS, so you have to find the cause and treat appropriately. For eg, if the cause is faulty foot mechanics, treating just at the knee isn't going to do the trick, if the root cause is an irritated nerve in the back causing hip tightness, giving the person shoe inserts isn't likely to work.

ITBS symptoms:
- pain on the lateral aspect of the thigh to the knee, especially at the knee
- increased pain with activity
- *usually* stairs are very painful with going downstairs being worse that going up, runnign downhill is also typically very painful.

If there is numbness or tingling there is nerve involvement and the problem is not a simple case of ITBS. There is likely also a problem with nerve inpingement in the back or buttock areas.

In treatment you need to address foot mechanics (maybe Knottedyet will comment further on this), and stretching of the hip is very important. Often there are weak abdomenals and hip muslces that need strengthening as well.

Uh-oh. I'm glad I made an appointment with my friendly sports medicine doc for Thursday. Fortunuately he's a runner and cyclist, so maybe he'll be open to the concept of finding the cause and not just treating the symptoms. I know I have lots of things going on in my body -- pinched nerves in my back, neck and shoulders, reconstructed ACL, slightly flat feet -- it's a wonder I'm able to walk! Hopefully we'll be able to figure out what the cause is and how to fix it. I really, really, really don't want to give up running. Thanks for the info, Wahine!

KB

[Wahine]

You will likely need something to correct foot mechanics and work on the pelvis, hip and low back. I'm going to PM you some stuff.

[Wahine]

You should also check out the foam roller thread.

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=19292&highlight=foam+roller

[kaybee]

So, what's the best way to approach this problem? Do I see the sports med guy and ask for PT and/or a referral to a podiatrist? Also, do our biomechanics change periodically, or are we just not finding the root cause? It seems like I have a new problem every couple of years. I'll work for months to get it cleared up, have a period of time where I'm pain-free, and then something else starts to hurt. The pains just seem move from place to place.

KB

[leulamax]

I am also curious about this. If I have not run (lets say for a week or so) and go for a jog, the side of my knee and hip will kill me later in the day. The next day I will feel much better and as long as I continue to jog/walk, I will have no major issues. Do I have to go to PT to fix this in the long run or is this something I can work on at home?

[Jolt]

I'm wondering if I'm starting to have IT band issues in the hip area--the past few days I have had sort of a "tight" feeling there, right over/slightly behind the greater trochanter (for those of you who know your anatomy)--mostly on the left but I've noticed it very slightly on the right too. Sometimes on the left I feel a bit of a snapping sensation in that area when walking; I know I've felt that at times when descending a steep hill at the end of a long day's hike. Does this sound like the IT band is likely the problem? The weird thing is I can't figure out how I did it since I've never had issues with it before and haven't increased my running or done anything really unusual.

[Deborajen]

IT band syndrome is very treatable when diagnoses properly. What that means is finding the cause of the syndrome not just giving it a title. There are multiple causes of ITBS, so you have to find the cause and treat appropriately. For eg, if the cause is faulty foot mechanics, treating just at the knee isn't going to do the trick, if the root cause is an irritated nerve in the back causing hip tightness, giving the person shoe inserts isn't likely to work.

ITBS symptoms:
- pain on the lateral aspect of the thigh to the knee, especially at the knee
- increased pain with activity
- *usually* stairs are very painful with going downstairs being worse that going up, runnign downhill is also typically very painful.

If there is numbness or tingling there is nerve involvement and the problem is not a simple case of ITBS. There is likely also a problem with nerve inpingement in the back or buttock areas.

In treatment you need to address foot mechanics (maybe Knottedyet will comment further on this), and stretching of the hip is very important. Often there are weak abdomenals and hip muslces that need strengthening as well.

I just found this thread and am interested, too. About two months ago, my right knee swelled up the day after running on an indoor track for the first time. It was painful for about two weeks after that. I started doing some stretches I found on the Rice University website and they help, but I still get some knee pain after about a mile of running.

The information on this thread and several others on this forum has been very helpful, but how do you pin down the cause of the ITBS? The doctors around here can find fractures, torn ligaments - the more visible pathology - but resources for sports health questions are a little harder to come by.

I'm curious about the foot mechanics, too - ? I've been told that since I have high arches I can "pretty much wear whatever shoe I want" - not quite! But shoes/feet never seemed to be a big problem for me - maybe I need to look into that a little bit, too - ?

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Deb

[flash]

The foam roller works wonders for tight IT bands. Just google IT band and foam roller & you will find some very nice websites demonstrating how to use the roller.

Long term, though, in order to keep IT pain/tightness at bay, we need to keep our muscle groups balanced. For me, that means constantly doing glute work prescribed by a PT, in order to balance dominant hamstrings. For others, dominant hamstrings or quads may be the culprits.

In my view, it's completely worth a visit to PT / sports med to sort out the cause of the IT problems. Ice, Ibuprofen, and rest are only a quick fix & they don't prevent relapses!

[flash]

And to answer another thread, YES - you can feel IT band in your hip. Since the IT band runs from hip to knee, along outer edge of your leg, you may feel the pain in either place (and, hopefully NOT in both.)