IT Band Injury

Seems like you're doing all the right things.

Are you genetically built to be a runner?, if not, I suggest you "calm down", take up another sport, let the injury subside and come back real slowly. And by come back, I mean with more down-to-earth expectations about training.

PS. Yes, I've been through the same thing and, in some respects, much worse. Haven't run properly in 2 years.

do the surgey; everyone on here is always saying "never let anyone cut you" or "that should be a last resort", but I've had the surgery done on both knees and

1)it fixed the problem, and 2) it is NOT a very invasive surgery at all! Think about it; they don't even go inside the knee capsule or anything, so your not irritating/damaging much of anything. I wasn't even put completely under for my second procedure; it took like 15 minutes. The recovery was minimal-2 weeks of total rest, a week of lite cycling to regain range of motion, and then a walk/jog program starting at week 4. By week five I was runninng continuosly for two miles, and then bumped my milage up from there. Quit messing with around with other stuff if its not working & have the surgery. I hurt my left knee and wasted 6 months trying everything to help it before having surgery. when I hurt my right knee a year later, I had the surgey right away and was running pain-free a month and a half after a pretty serious IT band injury that left me unable to walk for a week. hope this helps and sorry for the typos kinda in a hurry

Damn man. You sound like you've done everything right but have you done any real strengthening and mechanics corrections?

If you truly have, it sounds like surgery man, seriously.

I had ITB problems for about 18 months (1997-1998), did rehab, orthotics, icing, stretching, etc. throughout that period, and had no results. The two things that ultimately fixed it were:

1)I stopped running completely for about three months. No easy mile here and there, or a three miler if I felt good--NO RUNNING.

2)Relatively serious, and seriously consistent weight lifting. Three to four days a week, moderate reps (2-3 sets 6-8 reps) moderate weight. I did varying squat exercises, leg raises, leg curls, calves, and upper body stuff as well (for variety and rest between leg work).

The result was I was able to run pain-free three months later and I achieved a complete fix of the ITB problem that lasts to this day. I haven't done any lifting since that time, and I am running more now than I ever have.

Don't do surgery until you have given strength and flexibility a solid opportunity. Here is a good link regarding some newer and lesser known information about ITBS.

http://saveyourself.ca/articles/iliotibial-band-syndrome.php?%20bra25s

If this helps you, please consider donating a few bucks to the author. His websites and articles contain some excellent information you won't find anywhere else on the web. I paid for the article linked above, and hope you will consider doing the same.

Good luck!

In reply to the "Give Up" post, I am genetically built to be a runner; otherwise, I wouldn't be trying so desperatly to get better and probably would have given up by now. This is the sport that I love and I will try anything to be able to run again. I've had pretty good success thus far, though I'm only a freshman in high school. Just to give you an idea, I was able to run a 5:26 mile, a tough xc course 2 mile in 11:52, and an 18:25ish 5k in the eighth grade. Since then, I've grown a bit and at first I got A LOT faster and had the potential to run probably around a 17:30 xc 3-mile (or so my coach suspects, based on my summer workouts went). However, then, I became injured and missed my entire xc season and am currently missing track. Does anyone know if a sports med or orthopedic surgeon will operate on a kid like me who still has a good chance of growing? I'm still open to other suggestions meanwhile. Thanks to everyone who posted. I'm really greatful for any kind of feedback.

First of all, don't waste your time responding to trolls like 'Give Up' if you actually want knowledgeable, experienced people to help you.

Second, nobody cares how fast you can or cannot run except for idiots like 'Give Up'. You don't have to validate yourself to earn good advice. That said, when someone gives you good advice, you should actually read it.

In my opinion, don't start with surgery because one guy says he had a good experience with it. Many, many experienced LetRun'ers, doctors, coaches, and others have said avoid the knife, it is a last resort. Start with the least harmful option, evaluate the result, and move on from there.

Start today, and this injury will be a memory in a few short months. I wouldn't expect you to know this yet, since you are just a kid, so remember this: nothing good comes easy. And good luck is hard work.

Good luck. Shoot me an e-mail if you have any questions.

common:

sorry if I am not an "experienced" letsrunner; I guess being a top runner on a DIII team that consistently gets to the podium in XC and track doesn't qualify me

and about calling surgery the "least harmful" approach; for one thing, you cannot "mess up" this surgery, and it is definitely NOT gonna make things worse; I look at it this way-if you're gonna be on the shelf for a few weeks (ie no running), why not take some action & have the surgery. you're not gonna be worse off for doing it, and if you start running three weeks post op and it doesn't work, oh well. you're left with a little scar-big deal, get back to the stretching, foam roller, masseage route (or re-evaluate your sport of choice)

I'm a college runner and listen, the solution is you need to amp up the physical therapy. Remember this problem all lies in the fact that you have weak hips and need to stregnthen your core. Twice a week is not going to do it. I had this problem and couldnt run a step for about 6 months. I saw a great pt guy and worked hard. I used the rubber band around my ankles every night (still do) and walked sideways. You have to become obsessed with getting your hips stronger. I tried everything: foam roller (went through 4 of them), doctor for surgery, all kinds of perscriptions, everything. None of it helped. Trust me, stop running and hit the gym day and night and most likely you'll be back soon.

ps. I havent had a single problem with my IT since but keep very on top of it.

Thanks for the advice from everyone. Sorry if I came off as snooty or rude in my last posting. It wasn't meant to be that way... I just hadn't been prepared for the suggestion for me to give up running. By no means am I experienced with injury or even running; I'm a 15 year old girl who only joined the sport a few short years ago and has never really dealt with serious injury. I do have a question... what does anyone think of active release technique? I tried it for around two months to help my IT bands, but it didn't seem to be all that effective. However, with conventional physical therapy seeming to be rather ineffective, I was considering trying that again. Amy opinions anyone? I'm also still open to any type of suggestions or advice, as well as insights based on personal experience. Thanks again to everyone!

Congratulations on your success. What does it have to do with this kid's problem?

You're one of the few 'experienced' LetsRun'ers that advocates surgery before more conservative treatment. He's a 14 year-old kid for chrisakes. Of course he's interested in the quick fix--he's American, and he's a ninth grader!

You are more than a little unqualified to provide any kind of information regarding the dangers involved in this surgery or any other surgery for that matter. Why don't you look up the statistics on post-operative infection and tell us again how much of a slam dunk surgery is. This kid could be one staph infection away from a carbon fiber leg because of your sage advice.

No worries, though. No reputable surgeon is even going to consider this case until he's a few years older and at least attempted rehab.

Just because it worked for you, it doesn't make it right. It just makes it right for you.

Good luck this outdoor season, Coffe-mate.

Geez, sorry...didn't realize you were a girl, and you're 15, not 14. Anyway, like nick and I said, try the strength training. Give it a serious go, and consider surgery a last option.

That sucks that you have IT band syndrome. I seriously JUST recovered from it after having it for three months. During that time I would usually just run until it hurts and than immediately use a foam roller to massage it. I built up to where I once could only run ten minutes to about half hour and the problem always seemed to come up than. I talked to a physical therapist here at the university and she said that DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE was what worked for her (a runner who also suffered from this injury) was key.

Now I didnt see this mentioned but what I did was change from the foam roller to a glass bottle. A long one. It was solid and I could feel the tightness that the foam roller couldnt press on. My girlfriend would eventually press some wieght on me while I rolled with the glass bottle and three weeks later the pain was all gone. This was around four weeks ago. Today I ran a long run run once a week of 1 hour and 46 minutes without the pain coming back. I still massage it and built up to the that distance by running my long run from 45 minutes...to 1 hour...to 1 hour and twenty minutes...to one hour and 46.

Remember...I still massage it ALOT. After my runs and whenever I am bored at hoome so I probabgly do it like 3 or 4 times a day. Good luck!

It can’t be fixed if you keep treating the knee. The problem is not in the knee. That is where the pain is. Let’s start with the type of shoes you are wearing? The problem is in your butt. Strengthen your glute medius and max you will get rid of your problem. I agree with pronation is the underlying problem and soft orthotics will help.

crosscountryrunner03: Are you doing any activity at all right now? When was the last time you ran? I would try to do some stationary cycling or outdoor biking to get the blood flowing to your muscles..this will help the IT Band heal itself-or break up scar tissue. If you haven't done much activity but can tell the IT Band will get inflammed if you do something it probably is very very weak right now! You need to start a strength training program. Buy some ankle weights, ones that you can adjust the weight(ones I have go up to 5 pounds each), and lie on one side, wrap the ankle weight on the leg you are not lying on, and lift it straight up and down several times until fatigue.(Do this on both legs). This will strengthen your hip adductors/abductors. Running is repetitive, and it can make other areas of your body weakened if you do not strengthen them. If you want to be a good runner, you need to strength train. There are more exercises for the IT Band if you search this board. But you should also start strengthening other areas such as your back, your ankles, arms, and abs. When your body becomes stronger, it will be ready to run. You will start to feel more confident walking around and such, you have to take it slow, but you can run again. Also make sure you are eating well, and getting enough nutrients your body needs. I mention cycling because it usually won't aggravate IT bands and it will actually speed your recovery and rebuilding. You don't even need to think about surgery right now, you are still growing and your body type hasn't been filled out yet.

(I used the rubber band around my ankles every night (still do) and walked sideways.) Great for the glute med muscle.This will help!!!!!!

I had the exact same problem as you my freshman year, but I never really stopped running for any amount of time. I guess mine was less serious than yours, but there were about 4 months were I couldn't go on runs over a couple of miles. My problem just went away on its own. Have you considered the possibility that it's just related to growth? You said you grew a lot, and that can put strain on tendons.

can you let us know exactly what your therapy consists of? what stretches? what strengthening work?

what shoes are you running in? what's the footing/terrain -- trails, paved roads, gravel roads, cambered surface, etc.?

do you bike? (i initiated a 2 year odyssey into IT imbalance just by hopping onto a bike one day when spring broke and going too hard at it four days counting ... after having spent the winter sans biking). i've found that tight hamstrings play heavily into my IT>knee issues.

i recently came across an article saying, "don't stretch this way, you'll pull at your knees," but here's a stretch i found to help. it was just one of several that i did, but ...

you do it with your legs, but i'll first explain with the arms, as it's much easier to visualize. hold your arms straight out in front of you, then rotate them at the elbow so that the bottom of one hand rests on top of one elbow, and the top of the other hand rests against the bottom of the other elbow. all you've done is stacked your forearms. now lean over your arms.

okay? do an anatomical translation from upper to lower body. that is, imagine that your arms before you are actually your legs. hands are your feet/ankles. elbows are knees. etc. then sit on the floor and lean forward, right, left. often i wonder why i bother with this stretch, cause i can't feel a stretch. but when i feel my IT issues coming on, i try this stretch again and realize i haven't been doing it, because, well, i can't do it. it's tight.

girls have different hip ratios than guys, but if it's possible, you can move from this stretch right into one where one knee piles on top of the next, feet are drawn back, ... then lean to each side.

of course, sitting on a couch and pulling your foot and knee up to your body in various directions until you feel a good stretch is always fun.

a variation on a common stretch: stand up. bring your right foot/leg in front of your left. bend your right knee over your left knee. (you'll need something -- a chair, etc. -- to hold on to). use your right toes to stabilize yourself ... then bend down on your left leg. lean to your left side. search for the right stretch. i can find a wonderful stretch in there somewhere. (reverse left, right for the other side).

i also roll on a pvc pipe. and use the stick.

maybe it's all snake oil, but something in there worked for me.

Okay. Here's a run-down of what's happened with my injury and how I've dealt with it. I became injured August 15th, 2006 at my second day of hs xc practice. Since then, I have not run a single step, and am not able to pedal a bike either. I swam for awhile, but the inflammation got worse (as well as the pain) so I had to stop that and have not gone swimming since the end of October.

I started PT in August right after the injury; actually, I'd been in PT prior to getting hurt because I was recovering from a hamstring injury that kept coming back. I tried PT until mid-end of December, but it didn't seem to be helping. Then, I tried ART until mid February, but that didn't do anything. I went back to PT, where I used muscle stim on my back to fix my rotated pelvis/LLD, did core exercises, had massage therapy for my IT band, did a lot of stretch, and attempted a few hip exercises, but those just cause swelling and pain for weeks.

I just saw a sports med guy who seemed "baffled" as to why I'm not better and thinks there is some underlying issue, so I'm going for a bone scan; not sure what that may find, but if it gives me and answer to my problem, then I'm all for it.

The sports med guy also is having me stop physical therapy for the time being.

I'm still open to any types of suggestions. Now that I am not in therapy, I'll need home-rehab stuff to do.

P.S. Thanks again to everyone who's responded.

Yeah, the sports med guy is right, your body should have at least healed up some of the injury by now- there is a reason for that. Overtime, has the pain gotten better at all? or has it stayed the same? It's good you are getting a bone scan, the doctor should also evaluate how you are built and what kind of injuries you are susceptible to. That hamstring problem you had may have had a contribution to your injury. What kind of injury was that? A muscle pull or something else such as tendonitis? Does it hurt only at the knee? Or elsewhere? Either way, you are taking good steps in figuring this out, and you should NOT even think about surgery right now.