Viewing 34 posts - 1 through 34 (of 34 total)
  • ITBS and recovery
  • Onzadog
    Free Member

    If you’ve had it, how long did it take to recover and how long did it stay away for?

    It’s kicking in after 8 or 9 miles but I’ve got a full distance tri at the end of July.

    Is there hope or am I walking 26.2 miles?

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    Plenty hope. Just need to figure out what’s causing it and change it.

    boblo
    Free Member

    I’ve had it a couple of times. First time after a very long bike ride; 40 miles in and another 40 to go so when I got back, it was a real problem. The second time I increased my running mileage too rapidly and got it again, same side.

    Both times 6 weeks off training and RICE/Brufen/stretching/rollering. My next door neighbour is a keen runner and has had it a few times. She’s a bit impatient and either started again too soon or increased mileage too quickly and was off for months as a result.

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    MrFart
    Free Member

    Getting a roller and bringing my knees in worked for me over couple of days. I’ve also made a makeshift ITBS band using an innertube and toothbrush whilst touring and it worked ok.

    highclimber
    Free Member

    ITB or any small-muscle injury is usually caused by tightness and/or weakness of surrounding muscles. Concentrate on these muscles – core and upper leg exercises followed by stretching and rollering (or even better, get a sports physio to massage).

    cloudnine
    Free Member

    Go for a proper Thai massage (once a week for several weeks) and work on strengthening up your core and hip abductors. Is it just running that aggrevates it?

    A good Thai massage will really help loosen your legs and hips.. but be warned it’s freakin painful!

    surfer
    Free Member

    Stretching is not proven to either resolve or prevent injuries. The IT band is adhered to the Femur anyway so stretching is even less effective for this.
    Rollering may help as will icing and NSAID’s but unfortunately it can take a long time to disappear. Core and strength work will also help.

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    Single leg bridges and foam rollering lots and often is what you might want to try.

    TiRed
    Full Member

    Had it due to saddle too high and too far back. Cured with lower saddle, further forward and a foam roller. Trigger Point roller is excellent.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    Getting the massage. Working on the core and doing hip abductor exercises. Just worried that it’s too little too late.

    Searching online viva the impression that even the professionals can’t agree on the cause or the cure. Seems they can’t even agree on how it works.

    cloudnine
    Free Member

    Maybe try a ITB strap like this mueller one..

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    The massage works on the principle that if you inflict enough pain on something it will dull the pain below that area. I can never remember if that’s descending inhibition or whatever, but it seems to work well in the majority of cases I’ve seen. If you want to save a few quid on massage, get the foam roller out.

    SamB
    Free Member

    Abduction and adduction, plus foam rolling worked well for me – enough to strengthen things up and finish a full distance IM.

    In terms of strengthening things up, this routine is damn good at hitting the right supporting muscles and relatively straightforward: http://strengthrunning.com/2011/02/the-itb-rehab-routine-video-demonstration/

    Buy (and use!) a decent foam roller, something like this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trigger-Point-Performance-Revolutionary-Roller/dp/B0040EKZDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401226541&sr=8-1&keywords=trigger+point+foam+roller

    ITB rehab and foam roller every day and try to take it easy on the biking and running until things feel better (difficult I know, you should be right in peak mileage!)

    EDIT: this might sound obvious, but… if things get better, don’t stop the rehab routine. If you do, the ITB tightness will just come back. You need to keep all those supporting muscles strong, so keep up those exercises!

    highclimber
    Free Member

    ITB rehab and foam roller every day

    I read somewhere that rollering too often can cause more problems than it solves.

    MS
    Free Member

    Lots of stretching (for me it was in my hips and glutes. They were tight which in turn made the ITB tight) to loosen things off. Foam roller helps but can make it sore.

    Best advice I can give. Go get a sports massage, it will do the trick. hey can get deep into the tissue that stretching can’t.

    NZCol
    Full Member

    Try and find source, get a bit of general massage as that can help, bit of rollering but take it easy.
    FWIW i had such bad ITB pain 2 weeks ago i couldn’t walk, most of it was caused by a back impingement on a nerve. Since then I’ve freed it up and ran for 2 hours yesterday and rode for 2 hours today.

    wors
    Full Member

    IMUK OP?

    I have got the exact same injury, happened 2 weeks ago. And I’m doing the IMUK on the 20th July. I can’t run more than 20 minutes at the moment which doesn’t bode well. Went to the physio last night, she didn’t seem overly concerned. She recommended the foam rollers and also some IT Band stretches. Going back on Friday for a good massage. She also said strengthening your glutes may help.

    willard
    Full Member

    Weak hips pis what did it for me. Took an age to recover the first, second and third time I had acute attacks and I am still not sure I’ve got it licked.

    Stretch, strengthen hip flexors and adductors, core strength exercises… It gets a bit much sometimes when all you want to do is run up and down hills.

    surfer
    Free Member

    I keep getting drawn to these threads when people consistently advocate stretching for injury prevention and recuperation. Bear in mind there is no reliable evidence to support this and their is evidence that shows it is actually counter productive. By stretching your ITB you are effectively wasting your time.

    IMO mobility and strengthening exercise are always helpful when injured as are massage and active interventions such as orthotics, trigger point and frictional massage etc.

    cloudnine
    Free Member

    Maybe its stretching the tight muscles around your hips (flexors and adductors) that just seems to help as they are tight. ITBS seems to be about weakness and imbalance around your hips and core.. you also get tightness in other muscles so maybe certain stretches do help indirectly when used with strengthening to improve strength and flexibility?

    Go have a thai lady kneel and elbow all your upper legs and hips

    surfer
    Free Member

    Maybe its stretching the tight muscles around your hips (flexors and adductors) that just seems to help as they are tight.

    There is a reason muscles are tight and stretching them will not help. If it is a “faith” based thing then thats up to you.

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    IMO mobility and strengthening exercise are always helpful when injured as are massage and active interventions such as orthotics, trigger point and frictional massage etc.

    There’s about the same amount of evidence for those modalities as there is for stretching. i.e. next to nowt.

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    There is a reason muscles are tight and stretching them will not help.

    That’s probably not entirely 100% accurate. Stretching probably would improve things, but not by as much as strengthening the weak antagonist muscle.

    Most of that is by the by though as what the OP needs to do is continue running, but stop before his knee gets painful.

    surfer
    Free Member

    There’s about the same amount of evidence for those modalities as there is for stretching. i.e. next to nowt

    Well there is a significant amount of peer reviewed evidence to show that muscular imbalance causes problems in athletes and overcoming them through increasing localised strength is effective, Massage is also proven to be effective although as with all these things to a greater or lesser amount depending on the injury/location/practitioner.
    Orthotics (some form of intervention usually in the shoe) is dependent again on the skill of the practitioner in diagnosing problems however is very effective in overcoming severe issues and this is evidence based.
    Frictional massage along as with all massage techniques is dependent on the skill of the practitioner but there is a lot of evidence to show it is effective.

    I dont have to time to google references however of all the methods I have mentioned there is a significant body of evidence and one thing that is always clear from these threads is the number of people who will advocate stretching and always see it as a non controversial technique. By all means challenge all of my suggestions but why do you accept without evidence the recommendation of stretching?

    wors
    Full Member

    By all means challenge all of my suggestions but why do you accept without evidence the recommendation of stretching?

    Well, my physio recommended it, and she is more qualified than me, and everyone on here probably.

    surfer
    Free Member

    Well, my physio recommended it, and she is more qualified than me, and everyone on here probably.

    OK when you speak to her next just ask her in a polite non smart arse way why you should stretch.

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    Well, my physio recommended it, and she is more qualified than me, and everyone on here probably.

    Ahem. 😉

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2941581/

    Though no trials have been published on the efficacy of strengthening exercises in the treatment of ITBFS, strengthening of hip abductors is often recommended.

    wors
    Full Member

    Okay, maybe not wanmankylung 😀

    MoreCashThanDash
    Full Member

    From personal experience, get a sports physio to identify the cause. In my case it was poor core strength and weak flutes. Some massage and accupuncture relieved the immediate problem, strength exercises and stretching have stopped it recurring.

    Your problems may be different. You may or may not think a expert opinion is worth the cost.

    hitman
    Free Member

    “Our view is that ITB syndrome is related to impaired function of the hip musculature and that its resolution can only be properly achieved when the biomechanics of hip muscle function are properly addressed”.
    1920Fairclough et al. Is iliotibial band syndrome really a friction syndrome? Journal of Science & Medicine in Sport. 2007. PubMed #16996312

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    Well, got in to see the physio today. He doesn’t believe in stretching unless something is tight. Anyway, there is some tightness in my glutes but the IT band is fine.

    Seems it might not be my IT band after all. It could be the peroneal nerve passing through various insertions at the head of the fibula. He has recommended that I “floss” the nerve and shown me a couple of exercises but told me to keep going with the core and hip abductor stuff that I started doing when I thought it was ITBS.

    Thanks for all the comments. If they prove one thing, it’s that no one seems to have the definitive answer about IT bands.

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    Well, it wasn’t fast but I did a mock half ironman today. Ran without the knee problem flaring up. It could be that the pace was slower than before but it’s the longest I’ve ever run and it was without knee pain.

    Seems like the nerve flossing might have worked. Thought I’d report back in case someone else thinks they’ve got itbs, it might not be.

    wanmankylung
    Free Member

    Was it the same physio you went to see for your achilles/posterior impingement?

    Onzadog
    Free Member

    It was indeed. Well remembered.

Viewing 34 posts - 1 through 34 (of 34 total)

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