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ITBS- positive thoughts please
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Hi,
I must start by explaining running is not my thing- i used to run half marathons until i had to give it up due to chronic achilles tendonitis. Anyway, im a fitness instructor and have recently been diagnosed with ITBS, which means no classes for me for the foreseeable future.;'( as i dont run, mine was brought on by overuse due to spinning and kettlebell workouts (all the lunges and squats with weights has aggravated it) coupled with a tight ITB and weak hip abductors. Thing is, i had no warning sign, just went on me randomly last week and since then I can hardly walk and in a considerable amount of pain. My physio has advised to start stretching it and doing exercises to strengthen my hip abductors and glute medes.
my question to all of you that have suffered with ITBS is, how long did it take before the stretched etc started having an effect? and how aggressive were you in your rehab approach.... and how much pain did you feel when doing these exercises? and did any of you take on a personal trainer to make sure you were doing the exercises correctly to avoid doing more harm than good?
thanks 
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Comments
Where is your pain C.C?
Your ITB - generally doesn't just "go". It isn't a muscle. You generally get referred pain elsewhere (usually the knee) due to tight ITB. So when you say "it just went on me" what do you mean? What went?
hey TL
on the outside of my left knee - real sharp pain on the outside when i bend it just by that pointy bone bit. its agony!! really tender to touch aswell
looking back im xaggerating when i say the pain just came on suddenly- my hips had felt tight and achy for weeks and id had a few twinges in my knee recently but considering the amount of classes i do i just put it down to general fatigue.
when i say it just went, i mean that everything was ok, then i tried to walk upstairs and couldnt due to the pain that came on suddenly. been walking stiff legged since. went to see physio on thursday and she told me it was my itb. shes taped it for me, had ultrasound and its still bloody painful!! im trying to stretch and do the exercises shes given me. obviously i need my knee to be better so i can work and im getting increasingly concerned by the conflicting stuff onine. for example people say do squats to strengthen muscles- its the squats and lunges that have brought mine on. also stetching, most say stretching works, other people say it can make it worse. im not qualified yet in personal training so im a bit lost and just need to get better
Ah - I see! Poor you! It's very true that most of us walk on a knife edge when it comes to training and fitness - we can get away with so much for so long then something kicks off that sets in a chain reaction ending in injury. While your knee is so sore don't irritate it further by squats, lunges, steps etc. Well, you won't be able to anyway
.
The most effective treatment I've found for ITBS is foam rollering the band. Unfortunately it's acutely painful
but very effective. Speak to your physio about this. Ice, ibuprofen gel to the inflammed bits is standard and rest! Taping your knee in postion is good as well. It's because the ITB is so tight that it's pulled your knee out of proper tracking alignment - it then rubs and irritates where it shouldn't. Taping it into position can alleviate the pain.
Stretching and strengthening go hand in hand don't do one without the other or you'll become unbalanced. Key strengthening for glute meds are things like "clams". Hip flexor stretches - you can google a whole host of them. But don't until you are not in pain though I doubt those excersises will hurt your knee. Again, be led by your physio. Your injury is pretty common place and actually shouldn't take too long to put right.
I can sympathise, I had a bit of an ITB 'crisis' in my last half marathon two weeks ago. In the space of a mile the knee pain went from nothing, to slight twinge, to unbearable to run on.
I found this article about it, including some stretches and strengthening exercises. It seems to jibe pretty much with what my physio said so might be helpful to you. In any cases if you are worried about your recovery have another conversation with your physio about what you can do.
Good luck.
Erika
thank you so much guys, its brilliant to know that things can improve and my career hasnt ended just yet
lol.
brilliant advice thanks TL and thankoyu for that article mingo. AN i am looking at the yoga timetable at work as i type this!!