I want to give SS a go, but was diagnosed with tight IB last year, following knee pain. Had physio and do exercises, but is SS going to aggravate it? I can run again on it now without pain, but weight bearing at some angles sometimes tweaks it a bit. Anyone got any experience?

Can’t see it affecting you too badly on any bike, un-less it had already flared up through running. I found a foam roller help me stretch my ITB and I’ve not had any issues since. Any time I feel a bit of pain I get on the roller and it sorts it out.

Roller it regularly or it’ll come back. SS irrelevant, it’s running that canes it. If you don’t run and it’s bad, then roll it v frequently…

I personally shall be rolling this evening as it’s persistent for me.

I haven’t got a roller! Wasn’t even recommended one, where do you get them?

WHAT! you wasn’t recommended a foam roller?

back of the class for your physio – look them up on the interweb, plenty of info and sites where you can get one

FOAM ROLLER FOAM ROLLER FOAM ROLLER!

i had itb and glute problems (and knee mistracking as part of the problem)
a roller was an important part of my physio and definitely helped.
a world of pain the first time you use it but it gets easier.

i rode SS mtb and fixed on the road. this didn’t cause the itb problems and i was fine after getting it sorted. pronation was the root cause, footbeds and shims sorted that.

use the roller less and less now, only if i feel things tighten up.

Roller
Roller
Roller

Grit your teeth, use all your weight, tear to the eye.

I’ve got this one

Thanks for the info all. Wonder why the physio didn’t suggest a roller, seems like getting one is the way forward. I do pronate slightly when I run but wear neutral shoes, as the corrected ones caused me agony in my shins…

(and hello captain bastard – I remember you for your inappropriate user name!)

dont get a cheap white one they wont last long before they deform. spend extra and get a blue firm one. its hurts ant first.

some physio’s don’t believe in them, some do.

google ‘self myofascial relief’ for hints and tips. it’s not as dodgy as it sounds !

Hey Anna, long time no see! I have had problems with one kneecap tracking wrongly etc., actually find SS helps. Personally I think it’s the standing up and monstering up hills that makes the knee work as it should under stress, as opposed to the seated pedalling that seemed to be part of the problem. Be prepared for a long slow recovery though.

SS (with trailer and baby seat) has helped considerably with my IT band and other knee problems..
no roller here either.. just a stretch that lengthens a muscle in the arse that the itb anchors to..

Sportives aside, most of my riding is SS (fixed on the road, free off) and I have a tight ITB. Not found that SS aggravates it, although pushing a bigger gear can set it off if already sore (this week for example after a century). Standing up definitely relieves the pain.

As others have said – set up of cleats and saddle height are the biggest issues. I’m an overpronator and that causes friction and that causes pain.

I stretch but don’t have a roller.

It’s all about the roller!

I suffer from tight IT bands and pain on the outside of my knee when running and use the roller to help.

When rolling on a particularly tight part of the IT band, I can feel pain travel down the outside of my knee.
If I hold that spot with the roller, the pain gradually dissapates and then i move onto the next spot. It’s like a DIY sports massage.

I do the same with knots in my calves, hamstrings and quads

It’s very painful, but with prolong rolling I can see it helping.

Pushing higher gears while seated aggravates mine. I don’t run if I can help it.

One of the reservations about overly aggressive massage (painful massage or roller action) is that the tightness is there in the first place because of scar tissue binding the fibres of the ligaments (and muscles?) together, so they don’t slide smoothly over each other and achieve full stretch. If you break the fibres with elbow massage or roller massage, you’re creating extra trauma which will require repair and extra scar tissue. Meaning you need to keep micro-mangling your thighs to stay limber.

I’m no expert, so I might have got it completely wrong, but if I’ve got the gist of it, I can understand why some physio’s rely on stretching more and are reluctant to suggest rollers.

As above r.e roller, but one thing that really helped my ITB was a biomechanical assessment and a pair of orthotics..

As above, SS is irrelevant IME. It is running that brings the pain on.

I stopped running years ago now; if I ran I had to be prepared to be unable to walk without pain for about a week.

My physio never mentioned anything about a roller. Still, it is all cured now…. I gave up running.