Subject: RE: biking and IT band issues The underlying cause is probably a weak hip abductor muscle. What helped for me was getting one of those rubber stretch bands. They come with a clip so you can creat an "O" shape of it. Before using the foam roller, stand up straight, put it around your ankles and lift one leg out to the side. It's like stretching a giant rubber band. You can also sit in a chair, pull the band up just past your knees and move your knees outwards creating resistance. You can do the same lying on the ground on your side with the band around your ankles and doing side leg lifts. With a stronger muslce, it will put the tendon in a better position so it doesn't rub against your knee as much. Once i was hiking for four days and it got so bad i could barely walk for a month. I was downing perscription Ibuprofin like they were tic tacs. Best not to get yourself into that situation. |