IT band issues (I think)?

[JenLeath]

After a week of no cycling. I went to a spin class last night. It's snowing this week here. I made it through 40 min before it started to hurt. I didn't do any sprinting and I tried to keep my cadence in a circle. I think it might be getting better. Hope so, I wanted to to Little Red in June, it's only 37 miles, but that is longer than 40 min.

Jen

[equus123]

If it's an IT band issue then high cadence spinning, sprinting, low cadence muscular tension intervals, and TT-type intervals (i.e. tempo pace, high cadence, pulling knees towards the top tube) are all things that stress your IT bands.

If anything, stretching your IT bands are essential for everyone who's an endurance athlete. ESPECIALLY runners. They're notorious for IT problems. There are a ton of great stretches out there for them. You could probably just google them and find some pictures to show you how.

If it is really bad then icing is super important. One thing that works really well is doing ice massages. Dixie cups filled 3/4 with water and put in the freezer. This way you just peel some of the cup away and massage in circles going up and down the whole side of your upper leg. As the ice melts, just peel more off.

Another thing that I highly recommend is buying "The Stick". It's awesome. I just recently purchased one (~1 month ago) and I LOVE it. Though it does deliver a good amount of pain when rolling over your IT bands as well as the same part but on the lower leg. The pain is important because it tells you that there's a lot of funk in there and needs to be worked out. The Stick is great for rolling over your legs before/after workouts. You can do it whenever you want or however long you want. I def recommend getting one.

[KnottedYet]

"The Stick" (aka "Tiger Tail") is groovy!

I have major cr@ppy tight IT bands. I discovered the extraordinary joy of Speedplay Frog clipless pedals. No more knee pain! http://www.speedplay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.frog

Frogs are super-float pedals, your foot is never locked in so your knee/hip are free to do what they will. I've found that the muscular work (at the hip rotators) needed to keep me from accidentally unclipping from the Frogs has improved my leg mechanics to the point that I can run much more comfortably than before (when I used toe-clips).

[alpinerabbit]

I think what has been bothering my hip from running (TFL muscle) is also radiating into my ITB now.... argh. classic running problem.

I have made the resolution to be a very good girl about stretching. And indulging in more massages.

This guy suggests a stretch that I can even do before I get up in the morning :-) - and MAN did it "itch" this morning from hip to ankle... I'm very tight.

[JenLeath]

Equus123, thank you for you suggestions. I do believe sprinting in class is what caused the problem. I don't cycle in to winter and we moved to a new town last summer. I didn't have any classes to teach, so I started taking classes at a local gym. I never did the zero resistance super fast sprints before. My body immediately said NO! But I just had to beat myself into submission. I have always found things out the hard way.

I understand training those fast twitch muscles, but I never taught anything in my class that wouldn't be taken from the road. To some extent, the two aren't enough alike to really mimic a road ride.

Is the Stick similar to a foam roller. I have one I used on my hamstring after an injury last year. Ouch, it is a bit painful, but it reall worked out the kinks.

I believe I am on the road to recovery, I am so glad I caught it before it started to effect my running as well.

Jen L

[Irulan]

I had five years of that type of knee pain, was mis diagnosed,and finally went to see a gait specialist who gave me a prescription stretching program. I would highly recommend seeing a sports specialist to get a correct diagnosis

here's the exact program, good luck.
http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/...redericson.htm

[EBD]

I had painful IT band issues from running last year, and after learning some stretches I haven't had any problems this year (knock wood). These stretches really helped me: http://www.howtostretch.com/iliotibi.htm

As a bonus, the pictures of the guy demonstrating the stretches are kind of hilarious to me.