ITBS - Train or Rest?

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  • Nessie, the tightness you mention... I had this as a precursor to my ITB pain, but the sensation was in the lateral leg about mid-way, no where near the knee. I knew ITBS was coming on as the tightness started first, then gradually this disappeared and was replaced by very localised knee pain image

    That was my marker, as soon as the tightness went, I stopped and walked before the pain.

    Moolarb, just keep the roller away from the tender knee joint area. Worst area for me is that mid thigh point, when I roll over that it's like a knife going in, and I don't have ITBS anymore image

    The other point to remember about rollering is the speed you do it - make it really slow to be effective. It's a form of myofascial release, and needs to be done slowly to allow the fascia accomodate the movement.

    So break the ITB in two - start at mid thigh and roll slowly towards the knee and back to mid thigh, then the same start point to the hip and back. Be careful over the hip area, there's bursa there which can be tender.

    Always include a slow roll over the piriformis / glute medius while you're at it, as an extra... had me nearly weeping on the floor the other day... i love my foam roller image

  • Thanks moolarb - I shall invest
  • Hello ITBS friends, ok just over 2 Weeks since I was struck down by the dreaded, and finally I have no soreness to the knee at all, I went for a very slow jog on Sat night not even a mile and it felt ok...when I say ok Im really not sure, I felt something but not sure that its not all in my head, slightly off tiopic after not running for 2 Weeks how much fitness am I likely to have lost, I realise its likely to be different for each individual but will I be back to square 1 ? 

  • Dr.DanDr.Dan ✭✭✭

    Craig Comery wrote (see)

    slightly off topic after not running for 2 Weeks how much fitness am I likely to have lost, I realise its likely to be different for each individual but will I be back to square 1 ? 

    I was struck down with ITBS two weeks ago ... didn't know what is was at the time but it was bad ... basically,  I couldn't walk down the stairs the day after. By day 3, I felt fine so, since I now had only 11 days before a "must do" 10K race, I went for a short/slow test run ... but soon realised that it was still not right. I left it another week and did another test run. Still not right! By now I had worked out that it was ITBS ... but only 4 days until the big race!

    I did the 10K anyway ... I made my own version of the "Patt-Strap" (double-sided velco tape [1 inch] on top of stretch support bandage) ... was worried about the knee AND the loss of fitness after 2 weeks off. Well, I smashed the PB I set in September by almost 4 minutes so no need to worry about losing fintness! The knee is, however, now as bad as it was the day after the initial injury. So no more running for several weeks for me!

  • Dr Dan..I dont get it, when I have ITBS there s not a chance I could run on it, I thought with not feeling any problems with the knee for a few days that I was ready to do a bit but alas this afternoon at work whilst running down the stairs I felt the tell tail niggle...CARNT BELIEVE IT, my pelvis has been put back, Ive waited for the bands swelling to go down....so why is the problem still there ! grrrrrrrrrrrr 
  • I know how you feel, I rested for a few days, did a good weights session this morning, squats, deadlifts etc, no reaction from the knee. Three and a half miles into a recovery run pace effort this evening, I had to stop and literally crawl home, so back to square one. I've never had this problem before, all of a sudden it's really hit me.
  • nightmare, know its not nice but glad Im not on my own.....Just cant understand whats going on, problem was my hip had dropped after a particually hard session (happened before) so I get it put back, I rest to the point were there is no localised pain, so why is it when I run or walk for that matter down the stairs, does it come back ? doing my ed in now its passed being a niggle over 2 Weeks and Im starting to feel the way I did before I ran fat and depressed ! 
  • Typically, my knee is fine again this morning, so I'm at a loss as to what to do.  I might just take the rest of the year off and do some cross training in the meantime, then hope that 5-6 weeks rest from running does the trick.
  • I had another very painful sports massage for my itbs last night but my personal trainer/sports masseur is concerned I may also have a torn cartlidge as i have a pain just below my knee cap & it clicks when i bend it! He's told me to see a physio to get another opinion. This is so frustrating, i am meant to start my 16 week training plan for the Paris Marathon soon. Was also thinking about taking a rest till the new year. Have booked to see physio on Saturday!

  • My knee clicks as well but it always has done.  Do you have the pain below your knee all the time, or just when you run?
  • It doesnt normally hurt all the time,( but is aching today cuz of the massage) but  It hurts going up & down the stairs & when i walk for a longish, ie when walking my dogs! I did about 10 mins on the treadmill last week & it hurt so i stopped!

  • I also have been struck down with thisimage.  I thought £45.00 was a lot to see a physio (in comparison to what i earn an hour!), so thought I would give running a rest for 2 weeks and see how i go.

     Now my leg doesnt seem to give me any trouble walking down stairs and feels okay.  Would a little run be in order yet, or should I rest for longer?

  •  A fizz once told me 10 weeks healing time for an IT band flare up but i am sure there are those that healed quicker and many that took much longer!

     If you do try a run, the key thing is to stop BEFORE you feel any pain. little test runs where you run into the pain is only prolonging the healing process.

  • Many thanks fikalina - grief 10 weeks,  that would wipe out 2 half marathons i have planned.

  • There was a good article on ITB's in this months RW (Jan 2009) which gave between 4-24 weeks for recovery depending on the severity. I guess if it's the first time you have had this problem (like me) then you won't know the severity.

    I managed to get a race on Sunday and it's the first run for about 3 months without any pain at all. That's not to say I have taken 3 months away from training. I managed to maintain plenty of CV activity and used the time to experiment with various stretching routines. As a result my warm ups are approaching half my time in the gym.

    The key for me was stopping running completely (the last 4 weeks) and thats when the improvement started to happen. Prior to that I was doing the odd 20 minute session to see how it felt only to discover that it still hurt.

     I guess the bottom line is that everyone is different in how they heal and also their tolerance to pain so the recovery time is never going to be an exact science.

     Hope this helps

  • Has anyone any more recent advice on ITB syndrome ,  for example whether swimming is ok or not to do whilst resting from running ? Thanks 

  • Rob Jones 2Rob Jones 2 ✭✭✭

    I've done an awful lot of reading about this ingy having been struck down with it for a very frustrating 2 months. You'll read a lot of conflicting advice online because essentially there is NO good evidence that any one approach is better than another. 

    I really like the following which is written by a physio and runner about his own experience. Agree with the two vital ingredients of rest and strengthening. All the foam rollering and stretching in the world wont correct any underlying muscle imbalances in my opinion.The other vital step is a GRADED return to running which allows for the tissues to adapt. Don't set yourself back multiple times like I did in your enthusiasm to get back out there. Patience pays off in the end....

    http://www.running-physio.com/sean-part-2/

  • Thanks Rob and for the link share. Yes I think I have to become more patient . I also wonder if I am over doing foam rolling . Cheers Ingy

  • Rob Jones 2Rob Jones 2 ✭✭✭

    I've read some guidance that if you're going to foam roller only do the top 2/3s of the thigh/ITB complex as this is actually the origin of a lot of the tightness. If you go down to the bottom third (which is normally where the pain is) you'll just aggravate already inflamed tissue. Mine actually started to improve when I stopped doing it altogether!

  • Thanks Rob, i'm going to give the roller a rest and see how that goes, anything is worth trying after 3 weeks of frustration . Cheers ingy

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