Anyone ever have an IT Band Injury?

[Eatbig2getbig]

I wanted to see if anyone has experienced a nagging injury like I have. I first noticed it about 10 years ago while doing a heavy set of squats. While doing the set I suddenly felt a sharp pain on the outer middle part of my quad and hamstring tie-in located about 5-6 inches below my hip bone. The best way that I can describe the pain is as if I had a "zit pop" deep within this area of my leg. At first I thought it was a tear, but there was no bruising. Every so often I will get flare ups where I will get this deep pain again and it royally screws my leg training up for several weeks until it finally subsides. If I lighten up and vary my foot stances on squats and leg presses I can train around the discomfort.
I talked to my doc. and did some research and the closest thing that it appears to be is called...IT Band injury...otherwise known as Iliotibial (IT) Band Friction Syndrome.
The iliotibial (IT) band is a tough group of fibers that run along the outside of the thigh. It begins at the hip and extends to the outer side of the shin bone (tibia) just below the knee joint. Iliotibial band syndrome is due to inflammation of this band.
Could this be the problem...anyone else ever experience a similar injury?
If so, what did you do to help correct the problem.

 

[Sesshomaru]

Firstly, as Ive recommended to many people with injuries here, go to an ART practicioner. These people specialize in athletic applications of myofascial release and deep tissue work which can fix your problem and diagnose it properly. To find a practicioner in your area, go to www.activerelease.com and do a search. If you dont want ART, then find a really badass massage therapist, preferably one that has experience with athletes. You could also buy a foam roller (google) and play with it.


IF you have ITB friction syndrome, then do the following:

1) RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation). When was the last time you took a week off?

2) What does your posture look like? For example, is your pelvis tilted laterally or sagitally? Are your feet or knees pronated when you stand to engage in movement? If you dont know the answer to these, then post up some pics so we can help.

3) When you do feel better, take a break from bilateral movement and take some time to do more single legged work like split squats, lungles, hip extensions, etc. This will create structural balance between the adductors and abductors but also strengthen some external rotators that may not be firing properly. Make sure that your pelvis is neutral throughout all movements.

4) Soft tissue work and hip/spinal adjustments will help bring you back into alignment. Many ART practicioners are also chiros.

 

[lynx]

LOL! Ummm...JT had this injury as well. I agree with Sesshomaru, ART is the way to go. There were some other things that we did that seemed to loosen it up as well. They involved a styrofoam cylinder (log type thing) and positioning yourself so that you rolled your leg on it across the floor. I never injured my IT band but when I did these exercises with JT (he made me cause I was laughing at him) I was surprised how painful and tight mine was.

 

[Sesshomaru]

LOL! Ummm...JT had this injury as well. I agree with Sesshomaru, ART is the way to go. There were some other things that we did that seemed to loosen it up as well. They involved a styrofoam cylinder (log type thing) and positioning yourself so that you rolled your leg on it across the floor. I never injured my IT band but when I did these exercises with JT (he made me cause I was laughing at him) I was surprised how painful and tight mine was.

Thats called a foam roller. They have new ones out with a PVC pipe inside the foam for heavy people since the foam will eventually start getting deformed with use.

To foam roll your ITB, do this:

Lie on your side with the roller positioned just below your pelvis. From here, you'll want to roll all the way down the lateral aspect of your thigh until you reach the knee. Stack the opposite leg on top to increase loading. It looks like this:
**broken link removed**

**broken link removed**

Do not roll directly on the pelvic crest or on the hip bone (you have a bursa here and could irritate it). Heres the spot to avoid:

**broken link removed**

 

[Eatbig2getbig]

Sesshomaru and Lynx- thanks for the information. It sounds like this injury affects others as well. Sesshomaru- the explanation that you give about pelvic position and stance also makes sense. I actually have one leg that is slightly longer than the other (about 1/8") difference in length...occurred as the result of a broken bone as a child that never did not catch up the other leg.
I will give ART a try and get one of these styrofoam rollers. My wife will probably be laughing at me as well..LOL.
Lynx- Does JT still have IT band flare ups? It's really frustraing for me because it basically puts my intense leg training on hold for several weeks. Hopefully the ART will work.

 

[Sesshomaru]

Sesshomaru and Lynx- thanks for the information. It sounds like this injury affects others as well. Sesshomaru- the explanation that you give about pelvic position and stance also makes sense. I actually have one leg that is slightly longer than the other (about 1/8") difference in length...occurred as the result of a broken bone as a child that never did not catch up the other leg.
I will give ART a try and get one of these styrofoam rollers. My wife will probably be laughing at me as well..LOL.
Lynx- Does JT still have IT band flare ups? It's really frustraing for me because it basically puts my intense leg training on hold for several weeks. Hopefully the ART will work.

If that is a problem, then you might want to consider some orthotics to even things out. It might be that its not so bad that you can walk around without pain, but when you add a few hunderd pounds on top of that, eventually something will give.

 

[mikeswift]

there are lots of IT injuries in runners and I've had a lot of experience with it personally and through running friends, it usually leads to pain in the knee that's actually caused by the IT band being too tight at the hip. Check out some running sites for stretches you can do and you might also want to consider accupuncture or accupressure. I had a nagging problem on both sides from years of Marathon training (4 times NYC, 1 Chicago) and after 3 visits to an accupuncturist it never resurfaced. PM me if you need any info.