Does foam rolling the it band work?

Had it bad in college. Pain on the outside of my knee. Trainers told me to do some specific stretches and rest and foam roll/deep tissue. It worked! But I have to always stretch it (stick your hip out w/ legs crossed)

Pirformis and gluteus muscles are tight probably. Foam rolling worked when I focused on this area looking and feeling for a very small knot in the butt....BTW.....don't waste time foam rolling any part ofor the leg....possibly make things worst.

Lots of nonsense going around here. However, there are a lot of differing opinions about this and it can be a very tricky and persistent injury to treat. I've seen other physical therapists and articles posting that rolling the ITB will only make it worse. I am a PT and disagree based on personal experience with myself and with patients. Will you "loosen" the ITB? No, because it is a fascia and doesn't have contractile tissue so it can't be tight to begin with. But rolling the ITB can still give sensory feedback and cause neural changes that allow for relief. As previously stated, it is usually temporary. I wouldn't spend a lot of time rolling, but if a minute or two each day makes it feel better, go for it.

The real root of the problem is usually an overactive TFL (tensor fascia latae) and poor strength or control of the gluteus medius. Strengthening exercises, if weak in the glut med, are very helpful. However, you could be strong, but have poor control when running. You may be better suited for stability/control/dynamic exercises. If this is recurring there could be something with your gait or footwear that could be mildly tweak to yield big results. There is also the possibility that this is an old injury and your nervous system still believes its a threat, sending pain signals when it shouldn't (oversimplified version of chronic pain).

In short, there is no one answer for this injury (and many injuries). You could see your physician and be prescribed pain meds (block the pain for a while), be considered for surgery (likely not necessary and may make matters worse), or be referred to physical therapy. Or you could go straight to a physical therapist if your insurance will pay without physician referral (ask your insurance company- varies from state to state). Or you could try a few things on your own for a while and hope they work. Good luck and I hope you're better soon!

Wish I could edit posts (maybe I just don't know how in these boards)... but I didn't mean to say everything said here was nonsense. Lots of good stuff too. Just important to realize there is no 1 absolute answer to your problem.

What you said seems to be spot-on with my situation. I have had recurring pain round the hip flexor (TFL and iliopsoas), sometimes it radiates to the greater trochanter as well.

I have done lots of strengthening exercises (clam shells, side lying leg lift, donkey kicks, deadlift...etc). In fact, my right glute (the affected side) seems to be bigger than the left one, It does get better and I can put in some quality workouts, but it stills flares up sometimes, and the external snapping hip is still there.

I guess the stability/control/dynamic thing is one important piece of puzzle. What dynamic exercises would you recommend?

On a side note, I have flat feet and I have tried some motion control shoes with no success, though.

Google dynamic stability exercises.

I never found monster walks very helpful. I think they activate the TfL far to much as opposed to the glutes

I have heard that clam shells activate the glute much more than the TFL.

Just remember to not crossover your gait. Your problem will probably improve significantly from this as you'll engage your glutes so much better

Trail running, sports that involve lots of lateral movement such as soccer and basketball and direct exercises targeting the hip abductors will fix the issue.

+1