Afternoon all,

Further to my earlier thread about knee pain, Doctor reckons I have Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Been doing a bit of googling and have a few stretches to try and going to get some Ibruprofenat lunch. Due to having healthcare through work I'm hoping to see a specialist soonish but the Doctor reckoned on about another 6 weeks off the bike. Having already been off for three weeks and going stir crazy already, this does not bode well.

Anyone here had it? How long did it take you to recover? Anything else I can be doing other than the recommended stretching?

I suffered with it a few years ago but found riding bikes didn't affect it at all – just running

If you have healthcare – see a specialist now

if you don't have helth care, see someone now. It's worth paying and getting it sorted sooner rather than waiting for the NHS. Got mine sorted with the help of an osteopath and stopped it reoccuring with the help of a podiatrist.

Hi

I had been sufferring with this over the winter but a combination of lots of stretches (try "The Pigeon" it's a killer but it works) and pillates roller (roll the outside of the thigh down it with your full weight on it) has sorted it.

It is painful to sort out but perserve.

My wife had some acupuncture in her backside which really helped release the muscle apparently. She got it through running, and again, the bike didn't seem to have any negative effect. Once it was disgnosed, and with needles in the bum and lots of stretching she recovered after about four or five months.

I had it a few years back.

The medical advice was to basically give up everything so I went to see a sports physio and they put me right.

If you are in Manchester I would give these guys a call. http://www.davidrobertsphysio.co.uk/

I had it for 11 months, the worst single injury I have had and was resistant to any treatment (for me) it was a hugely depressing time as it was too long a lay off for an "old" runner.

Having said that other friends of mine have had it on and off and it is something that responds to meticulous stretching so develop a routine and stick to it as results may be slow.

Good luck

mine first appeared about two years ago and i still suffer from time to time – though i should have seen the stretches through a bit better.

toptip i got was to get my bike properly fitted – turns out my seat was about 2" too high which causing my hips to twist and stretch the band – don't scoff and assume you've got it right – turns out my ideas about seat height were slightly out with painful consequences.

now it really only gets painful when i have to hike a fully-loaded bike up some ridiculously steep slope – hardly everyday riding…

+1 for getting the bike fit checked. I used Mike Veal at Bikedynamic and it made a huge difference (and not just to ITB)

Just suffered this injury myself follwoing the LAMM i did , the so i know how painfull it can be. Had a week off and went out on the bike which was ok but any running downhill is out of the question. Would also be interested to here of other peoples experiences and solutions.

Some encouraging and some not so encouraging answers there!

Merticulous stretching doesn't really bother me as I'm quite into Yoga, I thought I'd heard of the pidgeon one before!

Harry_the_spider – they look excellent, they even do treatments right near where I live, cheers for that.

Regarding bike fit, just found out my boss knows someone who does this so I'll be doing that too.

Cheers for the responses!

my wife had this from running and has a foam roller thing she mashes her outer thigh muscles across on a regular basis to keep it at bay.

I tried it once, cried with pain and vowed never to go near the thing again.

what are the symptoms. I've had knee pain now for 3 weeks, comming from deep in the knee, which came on when I added some speedwork to my 40 mile a week running schedule

Sometimes just stopping for a few weeks is a good idea, my knee occasionlay swells up but a few weeks off and lots of stretching usualy gets it sorted.

You want to get it sorted though as long term the ligament can calcify which is even more painfull.

had it bad twice; MM solo 2006 and a 50 mile utra marathon 2009.
It mildly oozes back now and again but stretching regularly keeps it at bay. Massaging it does wonders but hurts a lot.

my wife had this from running and has a foam roller thing she mashes her outer thigh muscles across on a regular basis to keep it at bay.

I have one of those. First few times you are likely to cry like a little girl. Gets easier tho as the muscle gets stretched out. Does seem to work as well.

what are the symptoms. I've had knee pain now for 3 weeks, comming from deep in the knee, which came on when I added some speedwork to my 40 mile a week running schedule

Sharp pain on the outside of the knee, near the surface, sharp and even excruciating at times. My sysmptons were nil in normal circumastances but very painful after a couple of minutes running.
Yours is likely something else if its "in" the knee.
I'm no expert however!!

I've had ITB trouble on and off. Only real problems when running, which I had to give up for a year or so. It has never been severe when riding. I did raise my mtb saddle height some time ago – this reduced the maximum knee bend and seemed to stop the ITB rubbing over the bone just below the knee.

Been stretching properly for 5 months with noticeable improvement. Sports Physio's advice was to stretch all the surrounding muscle groups – especially quads and hamstrings in my case – rather than focusing on the ITB itself. This has definitely helped a lot.

Good luck – hope you can get on top of it as I know it is very, very frustrating when it keeps you off the bike!

I developed this during the Trans Wales a few years ago. Sharp pain under my kneecap on each down pedal, or pushing the car clutch in, etc. with lingering dull ache if I persisted those actions.

I went straight to a physio, who gave me the most excrutiating massage of my thigh, gave me some stretches to do and after about 2.5 months I was easing myself back into riding.

Sharp pain on the outside of the knee, near the surface, sharp and even excruciating at times. My sysmptons were nil in normal circumastances but very painful after a couple of minutes running.

This is precisely how it feels for me, usually lasts for a day or so afterwards too.

Good luck – hope you can get on top of it as I know it is very, very frustrating when it keeps you off the bike!

Cheers, its not only that, having to get the train into work and its costing me a small fortune!

I have a wooden roller that my GF uses to sort her back out so I might give that a try. Whereabouts on the thigh should I be using it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThwS0-AY4DA

try this.

I'd be wary of using a wooden roller, though.

[Edit: no idea why she's not weeping gently doing that – it will hurt]

As it is a swelling rest is good until it stops rubbing. Then you do need a good but gentle stretching routine. As has been said work on the other muscle groups too. If you are into yoga then the half or full lotus position worked well on mine and it has never come back.
The roller sounds interesting but I would wait for the swelling to go down before you start pressuring the area or it could inflame the area more.

Definitely worth looking at your bike but also look at your shoes for wear, chair position or anything else which might you in a slightly twisted or one-sided position.
It can take a while to fully go but it can fully go if you look after the area and stop doing what started it in the first place.

It's generally caused by muscle imbalance. Cure is a visit to a good physio to make sure it is that then massage and stretch-a lot. Then deal with the root cause, often poor core strength can bring it on if you are running. Too high a seat causes it as well. It's debilitating but easily fixed. Take some ibuprofen as well when it's uber sore. Oh and no point massaging where the pain is , look further up at quads and hip flexors- the insertion is there and if you stretch the muscle the it band attaches to you can get some relief.

The roller sounds interesting but I would wait for the swelling to go down before you start pressuring the area or it could inflame the area more.

you work the the glutes, quads and hamstring muscle groups not the actual knee area, it's basically a deep tissue massage but costs nothing and only takes 5 minutes.
excruciating painful the first time you do it but it gets easier until the point you can put all your weight on the roller.

a visit to a good physio (crystal palace sports injury clinic) foam roller and wedges/footbeds sorted all my knee/itb problems out.

the roller is good for those without any particular problems as it makes you a lot more supple and is good for post ride recovery.