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ITBS & Lunge Walking - Good or Bad?
Hi all,
I've been trying to shake a bit of ITBS with rest, stretching and a few bodyweight strength exercises, but that hasn't worked so far.
I've also been walking instead of running to keep active.
Recently I introduced some reps of lunge walking into my daily walk... 3 to 5 sets of 20 steps... I can certainly feel that I'm using new muscles, but I'm not sure if it's easing or exacerbating my ITBS... I think it might be making it worse.
Only been doing it for a few days, should I press on or stop?
Thanks
Dom
I've been trying to shake a bit of ITBS with rest, stretching and a few bodyweight strength exercises, but that hasn't worked so far.
I've also been walking instead of running to keep active.
Recently I introduced some reps of lunge walking into my daily walk... 3 to 5 sets of 20 steps... I can certainly feel that I'm using new muscles, but I'm not sure if it's easing or exacerbating my ITBS... I think it might be making it worse.
Only been doing it for a few days, should I press on or stop?
Thanks
Dom
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Comments
ITBS can be a bit stubborn to correct. The problem is irritation of the ITB or adjacent structures, caused by over loading. Over loading can result from increased training load or sub-optimal mechanics.
Crucially, the ITB is not tight when you have ITBS, so avoid stretching it.
You can modulate symptoms by rest, but active rest is best, so try a different activity or reducing activity rather than stopping altogether.
To ensure ITBS stays away, hip strengthening is the best approach. Your lunge walking will help with this, but you need to listen to your body to ensure you aren't over doing it. I would also say a reverse lunge tends to cause less irritation of the ITB.
You should also do other exercises to target your hip muscles (gluteus medius in particular). You could use a band to provide resistance whilst doing hip flexions, extensions, abductions and adductions for starters, then adding in more complex movements like lunges, deadlifts, squats etc as things settle down.
When you resume running, start with tiny distances and build up by a small amount every time unless symptoms have been triggered, in which case, peg it back a notch or two.
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