Asked before, I KNOW, but those threads did not help with my IT band issues!!!!

[Kelli]

Okay, I read the other posts on IT band issues, but they are not exactly the same as mine.  I began getting pain on the outside of my knee about two weeks after St George (thank goodness it was AFTER).  I dealt with it the best I could (yoga, icing, medication, cutting miles, etc.)  The pain just gradually got worse, to the point that I started getting stabbing pains in my knee after about 5 miles.  So, I slowed way down, made an appt with a sports Dr, and went in.  He did X-rays on my knees and they are fine.  He checked every extenuating circumstance that could be aggravating my knee and even put a little lift in the heel od my shoe.  He had me go home and run as far and as fast as I could the next day and i ran 8 miles before the tightness even set in, but I could not go any farther becasue I was running so fast!  I was beat!  He also had me start taking prednisone after that run (for 12 days, gradually decreasing the dosage).  All was well for about 8 days, and then it slowly crept back up on me.  Today I was back to full fledged pain.  I will call the DR again to see what he says, but he has been out of the office for almost a week.

So, my QUESTION is, what am I missing that I could still try?!?  I am stubborn and I keep running, but I was actually out of town and I had not run in 5 days (and I stretched and did Yoga on 4 of those 5 days).  I was hoping that little break might help, but NOPE!!!  So, do you think I need to stop altogether?  PLEASE SAY NO!

[Cheryl Keith]

Kelli--here is my two cents worth.  I had an IT band problem in 1998 which was so bad, I could not run even if I wanted to (and I really wanted to.)  I went to a doctor and he said it was an injury that does not heal quickly (I always seem to get those).  He gave me a cortisone shot and told me to only swim for a week, then try running again.  I tried, and there was still pain.  He then told me to not run for two months.  I know doctors now days don't like to tell you not to run, but I heeded his advice and spent two months not running, but I did LOTS of cross-training.  I mainly swam at first until the pain really subsided (took about a month), then picked up stationary biking.  I've read that IT band problems are caused by weak quadriceps, and biking can help strengthen the quadriceps, so I think that really helped me.  After exactly two months of only cross-training, I went back to running, and after that had a really good year of running.  I ran 3:39 at St. George that year, which was my PR for many years.  I think taking the time off running and working on other things helped a lot.  I have not had any IT band problems since then (knock on wood).  So I can't say whether you should stop running  because I don't know exactly what your pain level is, but a lot of times if we don't take care of these things, they just linger and plague us for a lot longer than they need to.  Now would be a good time to take off from running because who likes to run in the cold and ice anyway.  And you said you didn't run at all last winter and you still had a great summer/fall of running, so I don't think it would hurt you that much to take some time off.  You'll come back with fresher and stronger legs and probably have a great running year. 

OK, that's what I think.  Maybe somebody else can tell you how to take care of this without stopping running altogether, but I think cross-training would be the way to go right now.

[Josse]

I do think the body needs breaks form running.  This sometimes means no running altogether and sometimes means just cutting the mileage.  But if an injury doesn't heal with just decreasing it you need to find out what your weak points are and cross train/weight train to fix the problem.  Like Cheryl said she need to strengthen her quads, it may be differant for you.  But stopping for a while may be the answer, but I must tell you it will still be there when you start back up unless you do things to fix the problem.  I really need to take this advise and take some time off for my aching back   Again I don't want to but and I will cross train like a mad woman.  I am finding out more and more, or maybe just being reminded that injury is part of a runners life.  We can take steps to decrease are chance of injury and this will help.  But they seem to sneak into our lives some how or other.  But this won't make me give up running, just try to be smarter about training.

[Chris M]

I was a bit of an idiot when I had it. I got it from bending my leg in a funny way when doing a new calf stretch so different to you. Then I did a speed session on it and it went completely for the first time, and I limped/walked back. Then the same week I did long jump with it and the day after a long run and it went again. I then had a period of around 4 weeks where I could just cycle and swim. There is a stretch you can do for it and I guess that helped a bit, one where you stand and another one where you sit down and pull you leg into your chest.

As mine came on gradually it just got tighter and tighter until I could not possibly run, well past "just noticeable".
I know you can get a foam roller - like a piece of pipe lagging/insulation that you use to roll out the ITB.

So for me I basically stopped running for 4 weeks, did swimming (only front crawl!) and cycling and gradually  reintroduced running.

[KARL H SIEBACH]

I had it when I was in college and it took me out for the indoor/outdoor season of track. Let me just that the school just sent me to stupid doctors and PT that didn't know anything.  They were just hooking me up to machines like stem and well I can't remember the other one for some reason but it's the one that goes deeper then stem. Then i got quartazone shot which only lasted 5 days.  Here is the secret stop getting hooked up to machine and do not get a shot, go in and have someone that knows what there doing with sports massage therapy and lay on your side and they should use their for arm to rub you out.  When I had it, I had three knots in my IT band and it only took 2 weeks to get rid of with 5 visits. There you go hope it helps.

[Maurine Lee]

Kelli - I think my injury is healing. But I am being careful.

Couple of things working for me: 1) Leslie massaged the heck out of it with her forearm.  I about jumped off the table. 2) The roller ball and tennis balls put lots of pressure on it. 3) the IT Band strap seems to help (I used it several years ago when I had this before). As a matter of fact, I was wearing the strap on Saturday when I lifted weights and one of the leg exercises used that as a pressure point. It is still bruised - but it sure gave the IT band a great massage.

[David S]

Kelli - I had serious pain on the outer part of the lower knee.  It would become so bad that I would need to stop running - usually on long runs after 8 - 10 miles.  Down hills exasperated the problem.  I mis-treated the problem for several months as an ITB problem.  I finally saw a Sports Dr. and Physical Therapist who specialize in running injuries.  Here is the low down:  There is a nerve that travels down the side of the leg and splits in 2 right below the kneecap.  One section of the nerve continues all the way down the leg, the other "loops back" and connects to a spot right below the knee on the outer side, not inner - this is key.  So if you have pain here it could be this nerve.  The solution is stretch that nerve out.  Sit straight up in a chair with both feet on the ground.  Raise the leg that has the pain with the knee at 60 degree angle, so that your foot is out in front of you.  Your foot should be at a 90 degree angle in relationship to you shin. The heel should be about 2-3 inches off the ground.   Now, with everything else being steady move your toes in the direction of your other leg.  Only your foot should be moving, like a windshield wiper.  You should feel the stretch all the way up to your knee.  Do 3 times 10 a couple times a day.  This simple exercise complete erradicated the pain and I have been running with painfree knees since.  I do this exercise on a regular basis while I am at my desk. 

Good luck, I hope this is of some help.