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Hi I am new to runners world but not to running, I've been running for about 5 years now and have done pretty well with lack of injuries. But recently have suffered with a pain in the ball of my foot and also a sharp pain on the left side of my knee, I think this is a problem with my IT band, but does anyone have any advise for me.
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Left side of knee ... prob it band. Stretch it and use the pat strap when running.
Ball of foot, only answer for that is rest.
Make sure you have had your running style looked at and that you are wearing the right trainers.
Thanks Welsh Alex.
had a quick look at the stretches, will definately have a go see if they help. Ball of foot pain I can cope with but my knee does get really painful so am more concerned with that. Have only managed max of 5 miles on my runs in the last month booo.
Have had my running styled checked but am going again in a couple of weeks to get new trainers.
IT band: rest if it's really bad. Lots of stretching and lots of icing.
And sports massage will definitely help if it is ITBS: it will help lengthen IT Band and help prevent it rubbing on knobbly bit of knee!!
The underlying cause needs addressing though: running style/ running surface:too much cambre/bad trainers???
Good luck!
thanks runner-bean
have done some extra stretches as advised by welsh alex, been for run today and got upto 6 with only a slight ache. Think may have done a bit too much road running I guess some muddy fields would help yuk!!.
I agree with rest of the advice given so far. Stretching certainly has helped me recover quickly. I also read on one website devoted to ITBS that when recovering it can be helpful to run shorter distances but at a higher tempo as it changes your stride resulting in less rubbing. Might be rubbish but in alliance with the stretches it seemed to work for me !!
Myles, I can vouch for the running shorter distances faster theory. I've suffered with ITBS since last Sep. At the moment I can only run for ~2.5 miles before the band flares up. I'm also doing rehab and stretching etc.
I'm a slow runner at 9.5-10 minute mile pace, but since doing my shorter runs I'm now running at 8.42 pace which is easier on my knee but rather knackering on the lungs! My run today was enjoyable as there was no knee pain but would have run out of puff if it'd been much longer.
I long for my old steady pace back where I could head out for an hour or so. I suppose the good thing is if and when I'm able to run further, I'll be fitter
Hi - I've suffered with ITBS - a horrid pain at the side of my left knee which prevented me running for several months and meant the end of 2 marathon plans. I started a thread here on ITBS and loads of good advice on stretches etc were posted (will try to find the link)
I decided to go for a steroid injection (on the advice of a new physio) and had some new orthotics made. Since then I have been running pain free (I am touching wood as I type!) and am now training for FLM.
It was an expensive option but I am so relieved to be running again.
Good luck.
thanks for all the advise i got up early this morning to do some stretches have vowed to do a bit each day though may do them at night as not too good in the morning, have to cope with kids and stuff.
Am waiting for physio appointment (via NHS) as we speak, so think I will mention orthotics see what they say.
Good luck Bella with the FLM hope it goes well for you
Hi,
Hi have exactly the same problem, Have been training for the last six months. In august (after incresing too quickly the mileage) I had a bad pain on the right side of right knee. It passed after almost 1 month of rest. In Sept I started training again for FLM, increased mileage very slowly, reaching longs of 35km. Started to have some pain on the ball of my right feet (stress fracture??). I think it started it off again: right hip pain after 10km for the last two weeks, and now (this week) right knee pain again. Too bad, that's ruining all the training i have been doing so far and my goals for FLM...I tried yesterday after 2 days without running, but managed 1.5km after that right knee started again and I stopped as I didn't want to damaged anything too badly.
Planning to get my gait checked and to see a podiatrist. Any advice for someone really good around Middlesex / Surrey (even further away if really worth it...I just want the best advice and start to run again pain free!!).
Thanks!
Leo
I've been hit by the ITB problem as well, but I get it in the hip/upper thigh rather than the knee. Physio says there's not a lot she can do about it as my hips aren't straight so until I get them sorted I have to grin and bear it. Just go to find the cash for an osteopath now.
It's so bad that I can hardly walk 1km to the school to collect the kids yet yesterday I went for a run, the first in over 2 weeks, and managed a mile with no problem. But it did hurt when I walked. Any ideas? Or does it tie in with Myles/Siance suggestion of running faster shorter distances?
I also had the described injury. I had a pain in the side of my knee which felt like being stabbed. The ITB was running on the knee cap and causing the shooting pain.
In total i had 3months off competitve running. My treatment involved cross training, leg strenthening exercises, weekly physio treatment and massage, stretching daily and ice packs.
As we speak im sat here with an ice pack on my ITB due to it being tight. Whenever i step up my training it goes tight. I find stretch number 3 on here http://runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=6099 a good one.
Shaw
Shaw Pye
In addition to all your treatment for ITB, have you tried a foam roller for massaging the itb? This has helped me a lot - use it before and after your runs.
no, i havent tried that. Is it just like a tube of foam??
Correction, found it http://www.thefitmap.co.uk/equipment/home/accessory/foam-roller.htm
Siance - running til it hurts, at whatever speed, is a disastrous way to go. It heals so slowly that any damage you do will linger. Stop now and get it fixed. On the other hand, if running fast allows you to run without the pain, you're probably fine.
Shaw - the IT band does not rub on the kneecap (it rubs on the lateral femoral epicondyle - the lump on the outside of the knee), so if your kneecap hurts, it's not ITBS. A tight IT band can pull the knee out of whack and cause kneecap pain, however.
Phil - ITBS is very dependent on gait, and on shoes for that matter. Both factors can cause that difference. For now, don't walk if you can help it (I have bad memories of frequently catching a bus for a few hundred yards!). Also - I'm a bit worried that a physio says he/she can't do anything for ITBS. He/she should have prescribed some stretching at the very least.
Shaw Pye - yep that's it - make sure you get the round one obviously so you can roll up and down on it. If your ITB is inflamed you might find it quite tender to start with. Start just above the knee joint and go all the way up to just below your hip and back again several times. Don't roll over any joints. If you find any bumps, pause on it for a few seconds and you should feel it release. Even when you've recovered from this flare up, make this part of your regular stretching routine.
Phil, I'd get another physio assessment, preferably with a therapist involved in sports related stuff. Osteos commonly relate lower limb pain to a pelvis being 'out' - how much the sacro-iliac joint can move to cause the pathologies they claim is open to plenty of debate in the manual therapy world. Pelvic misalignment can be corrected with orthotics though, so maybe a podiatrist would be a better option; you may have a leg-length discrepancy.
Hi Swerve, I wish I could get the bloody thing fixed! I've tried everything from complete rest to cross training, stretching, rollering, strengthening, orthotics - seen physio and podiatrist. Both are puzzled and agree I'm doing everything I should be (I'm a sports therapist so I'm familar with the condition and am structuring my rehab accordingly).
My test 'runs' are part of the treatment - I need an outcome measure, how else can I measure the effectiveness (or not) of the treatment? If it hurts I do stop, but it's just a tight feeling not pain lately so there has been some improvement
Foam roller - enjoy Shaw! It showed no mercy when it found a trigger point about half way down my ITB as I rolled over it - a new meaning to the word pain! Or it could be that I'm a wuss...
As Fikalina says they are good though at freeing the ITB up and massaging any tight areas. I use them for back stretching and core work too.
Thanks guys. I should make it clear that the physio (actually a Sports Massage Therapist) said that massage won't help any more so there's no point wasting money seeing her for treatment on it. I have been to the Docs and got a referral for physio at the local hospital, we'll see what they come up with.
I am a heavy lad and wear Brooks trainers which I am told are best for fatties like me (and I had advice from a running shop) but for a while I have been treading on the hem of my trousers on the side I have ITBS so maybe that leg is slightly longer. I'll get it looked at.
Finally, I do avoid walking any distances, even going 1km to the school was painful, but I have been for three runs this week and none of them has hurt until I stop. I find that a good stretch keeps the pain at bay for a few minutes but I do get some strange looks when I am bent over or sat on a floor in Asda with my knee pressed against my chest!
Some of the things said on this link about IT Band problems need to cleared up because to my mind they just dont make any sense. I have suffered with IT Band problems for years so i have plenty of experience with this injury. Firstly, it was said that ice was used to reduce the inflamation? If im not mistaken what happens with the IT Band is that it shrinks and starts to rub on the outside of the knee. A classic sign of IT Band problems is look down at your leg ( the one with the IT problem) whilst you are running and you will notice that it is coming over towards the other leg just before it hits the ground. If you imagine cutting open your hip and grabbing hold of the IT Band and then pulling it, it will pull your leg inwards. My point is that ice will not do anything for the IT Band. If it rubs on the knee then the knee will get very sore but not inflammed.
The best exercice i have found over the years for IT Band problems are to lie on a raised flat surface or a bed with you bottom right on the edge. LIft your good leg up so your thigh is on your chest and hold with your arm. Let the bad leg daggle on its own and lower it as low as you can then move it outwards to feel the stretch. Repeat this for as many times as you can and twice a day. What you are doing is stretching the band back to its normal position. Also, rest is the best thing for IT Band problems and it can take weeks or mths
Hi Clif
Sorry mate, but a fair bit of your knowledge about itbs and treaments, causes etc is incorrect.
Here's a great link that explains it all very well. www.anaerobic.net/runnersguide.html
Shaw Pye - this link has some stuff on it about foam rolling
So whats incorrect then? Just read the link and as it says "everyone is different"?. I said that the IT band "shrinks", they say "the muscles contract which puts tension on the IT Band", so in other words, the IT band is pulled. And when you pull the IT band your leg will track inwards.
They also say that tenderness may be felt on the outside of the knee and there is not usually any swelling. This is why ice is no good unless there is inflammation. Yes it can get inflamed but usually its when you try and run through the pain time and time again.
My IT Band problems are from weak hip abductors and i went to have a full scan on my running action at a clinic in london who work with some of the top sportsman and woman. Before they showed me my running action the physio said that the leg with the IT Band problems will track inwards on the film and this is because of the Pulling of the band. When i viewed the film is showed my leg really tracking at a different angle to my normal leg action which is a direct result of the band.
Yes i know about the foam roller etc, i did try it and it was very good at stretching the band. I only said about the IT Band Stretch because its the only thing that really works for me!
Clif, no offence meant, i just don't agree with some of the statements you made and seeing as you ask, i believe the following statements are incorrect:
"If it rubs on the knee, the knee will get very sore but not inflamed"
The ITB does not if fact rub on the knee, it rubs on the lateral femoral epicondyle (the bony bit on the lateral side of the knee) and the pain that people feel on the outside of their knee is due to the band being inflamed (inflamed being completely different to swelling which is not normally associated with an ITB flare up)
"Ice will not do anything for the ITB band" -
Ice will go a long way to reducing the pain and inflammation in the acute phase of an ITB flare up. Reducing the inflammation asap is really important as where there is inflammation, the body will begin to lay down scar tissue.
I've fought an almost 6 month battle with a nasty bout of ITBS which was not brought about by running through pain time and time again, in fact it came on out of the blue and the end of 1 run. So I think it's important that people coming to this site looking for help and advice get the correct advice.
However, although I disagree with some of what you say, you are entitled to your opinion as am I.
Peace.
Dont think i put it to well mate. Your correct in saying about the lateral femoral but to most people its the outside of the knee. No problem anyway, its just my view and thats my experience of the injury.
Peace
Er, sorry for being a geek, but there's sparse clinical evidence that ice reduces inflammation for ITBS. I've analysed some recently published journals on treatment measures for the condition. If you have 'athens' authentication I can give you the links to them as they're subscription only and I access them through work.
Ice works better on tissues that are vascular, and the ITB has a very poor blood supply - it's a thick strap of tendon tissue. However, ice does work to reduce pain and so should be used for its analgesic properties
Apparently the IT band has tensile strength equivalent to steel! No wonder it's such a bugger to fix...
having suffered with bad ITB problems in 2006 ahead of NY Marathon i'm very concerned that as my training really gets going for FLM in April the same problem will re-surface.
I can't stress enough for anyone with ITB problems the importance of having the correct shoe and insoles and you MUST MUST MUST stretch more often than people may ordinarily do. There are some brilliant but very painfull exercises you can do to get into the ITB and stretch it out, but as Siance says its a tendon with very poor bloody supply so its not easy. I can also recommend a good sports massage!