Yikes. They can be really ugly. I have had two IT band injuries in the last two years.
First one was on right leg and lasted about 1 month. I could run 10-15 minutes then it would kick in and I was done.
Second one was this year on my left leg and it lasted 4 months. I could run about 10 minutes and then be done.
What might have caused the problem? Change of shoes, mileage, running surface, a marathon? Try to trace the problem back to the root.
First off, see a physical therapist who is trained to treat runners! Stretching, ice, Ibuprofen, strengthening and the rolling/massage of the IT band is a must.
There are specific stretches you can do which help. One I call the pretzel was my saviour the first time around.
Lie on the floor with your uninjured side down. Bend your injured leg back towards your buttocks and grab it with the same arm as the leg you are bending. Now take the uninjured leg (closest to the floor leg) and put your foot over your injured leg right above the knee. Do two things here:
begin pressing down on your injured leg towards the floor and slowly begin pulling your injured leg further back with your hand. You should feel it pulling right on your IT band just above the knee. Keep pulling and holding this until you cannot do it anymore and cause pain.
Lying on your side again with injured side up, use a styrofoam roller and have someone roll it up and down your injured IT band. Really work it hard. This really hurts but is a must to stretch out the tight band.
Strengthening of the aductors and abductors of your legs is a must as well. Using a rubber strength band. Hook the band to your bed post at the floor. hook the foot of the injured leg and pull the leg out and away from the bedpost. 3 x 15 reps.
This is just the beginning. Hopefully this will help but if you can get to a good therapist you can lick this problem here and perhaps never get it again.
Dan. If you want to talk more off-line about this I would be glad to talk to you.
danm@wittkieffer.com
