IT Band Syndrome

[Maui girl]

Anyone out there had trouble with this? Mine came on very suddenly and although I took 5 weeks off the bike, iced, did strength exercises and stretching, the pain begins again at about mile 10.

Would appreciate hearing from anyone else out there who has dealt with this

[westtexas]

Anyone out there had trouble with this? Mine came on very suddenly and although I took 5 weeks off the bike, iced, did strength exercises and stretching, the pain begins again at about mile 10.

Would appreciate hearing from anyone else out there who has dealt with this

Is yours too tight? That's what I have. I'm going to physical therapy and it's helping a lot. The goal for me is to strengthen the muscles of the inside of my leg (the adductors). Rest, ice and stretching doesn't do anything for me. I have to keep the muscles inside strong so my patella doesn't luxate to the outside of my knee. And you have to keep doing it forever, apparently. Or surgery, that's the other option they gave me.

[Dogmama]

Stretching and a foam roller. A good massage therapist.

[Artista]

Do you use clipless pedals? If so, it's possible that your foot is being held in a position that stresses your IT band. A professional fitter may be able to adjust your cleat to reduce the stress on your IT band. That's what happened in my situation although I still experienced some IT band pain after long, hilly rides. I ended up switching back to platforms because of an ankle injury. The platforms have totally eliminated my IT band pain.

[redrhodie]

Massage is good; it can relieve the problem, but in my case, it did not fix it. Neither did the foam roller. Mine was cured by tweaking my bike fit. It was a lot of trial and error. I can't recount all the things we changed, but mainly, my saddle was too high and too far back. Of course, moving your saddle changes everything else, so you may want to get a pro fit.

[indysteel]

My right IT band bothered me when I used a triple crank on my bike. When I switched to a compact double, the pain instantly went away. Triples generally have a wider tread or "q factor" than doubles or compact doubles. For some, that doesn't cause any IT band issues, but for me, the only fix (at least currently) was to switch cranks.

[pll]

This afternoon I became acquainted with my ITBs. I had experienced some sharp pain on the outside of my left knee while running, on two occasions. I went to a sports physician because of that and pain under my knee caps -- prescribed some physical therapy. I saw a physical therapist this afternoon and, in no time, he found that my ITBs and quads are really tight.... fast forward to the roller stretches: they are extremely painful. I'm supposed to do 20-30 reps and I had to take a break after 10. Ouch.

[bluebug32]

My IT band problems were spurred on by a poor bike fit. I also find that doing too much too soon (suddenly adding hills or miles) will stress the IT bands. I ended up getting better through acupuncture and massage. Now that I'm not in pain, I use my foam roller literally every day to keep them loose and I do light stretching. PT might help others, but I didn't get much relief. I also think that yoga (warrior poses esp.) are great for keeping the legs loose. Good luck!

[pll]

Long live the roller!

It hurt quite a bit the first two days. It is now (five days later) much better, easier to do. In addition to stretching the ITB with the roller, the physical therapist gave me a series of strengthening exercises and 2 more stretches. This afternoon I noticed I had no pain under the knee caps and only a very slight discomfort (ITB related) on the left knee. I will be very diligent with the routine.

[Bike Chick]

I'm going to pt now for hip and ITB issues. It's so painful but I've been given strengthening exercises for my adducters and stretching exercises as well and it is helping. Ice baths help too if you can stand it.

[itself]

My quadballer has been my savior. This is more aggressive than a foam roller. Www.tptherapy.com carries them. What's nice is that it is small so you can also take it in a suitcase.

Theraband exercises are huge. Biking, running, and other activities do not work the specific areas like the therabands do. I do them twice a week which is more than enough.

[pll]

That device looks intriguing. Being able to fit it in a suitcase is a great. Thanks for the pointer!

[bluebug32]

Glad you're getting some relief!

I've used a foam roller for the past couple of years to work out any issues that start in my legs. You can find some great roller routines online to see how to work and stretch the glutes, quads, calfs, etc. It's a great secret weapon. When I'm away from my roller, I'll later up in the shower, make a fist and work the knots out that way.

[pll]

I ran on the treadmill yesterday, for the first time in months -- I had been running outisde-- and my left ITB is killing me. The pain is right in the bony area on the outside side of the knee, where I think the ITB is attached. I have used the roller no less than 10 times today (stopped by PT on the way to work to buy a small one, the pain is *that* annoying).

[klesko]

I also had improvement when I went from a triple crank (granny gear) to a compact double. Right IT Band issues only. I had a pro fit with both cranks. I swear by my foam roller! I found it would hurt after a few miles and then if I kept riding it would loosen up and not hurt any more. It also hurt worse on a bike trainer at the gym then on my bike.