ITB Issues

I have had/ do have ITB issues.  I have seen a sports MD for this.  Prior to seeing him, I had already began a vigorous stretching routine of the ITB (4-5 times per day), ice, and tennis ball massage.  His only further recommendations were to cut back mileage in half or even stop completely for a while, run on flat surfaces, and do not run through anything worse than mild pain.  If this doesn't work, there is always surgery.                                                                                         I took approximately 6 weeks off with no running.  I do not want surgery.  I ran 5 miles today with a little discomfort.  I am not sure if it was psychosomatic or real.

rollers, yes! i went thru this in cross country this year and it went away for me with some stretching and ice. i used a roller when i could but i didn't have one often. anywho, i do some yoga and i learned some good stretches for this. go into push up position, pull your hurt leg up underneath you with your knee bent and lay down on it so that your chest and stomach are on youe thigh. you can roll to the side for a better stretch. that's the only one that i can really put into words. the three or four other ones that i know are hard to describe without a picture of some kind. PM me if you want them with pictures, and i'll see what i can do.

I am currently dealing with this.  I am now in my 2nd week of zero running after a few months of reduced running.  Running through it does not seem to help.  I am walking doing the elliptical machine some.  No more than 12 min on each though several times a week.

I have spent hours reading, talking to people, watching videos and doing exersizes.

I believe I am ready to get back at running but am forcing myself to wait until after Thanksgiving. 

Here is what I have done.  Alot of rolling.  Find the spots that hurt like no other pain you have experienced before and stay on that spot as long as you can take it... up to a minute.  Use your other leg as a guide to compare the pain.  Don't concentrate on just the exact IT band area but all around.  I found the worst pain right on the edge of the IT/hamstring.  Don't neglect your but either.  You could have tightness in your glutes that is pulling on the IT. 

Here is a laundry list of stuff I researched.  I have been focusing on strengthening the hip adductors and glutes.  I have also seen a ART specialist 2 times and a kinesiologist/chiropractor.  He adjusted my knee and found a number of weaknesses related to the IT bands.  I also do some ART of my own while on the roller.  I roll up and down and curl my leg.  This is similar to ART in that it moves the muscles while putting pressure on them and this helps to break down any joining of the tissues that should not be there. 

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Lots of good information here.  I just had to pull out of the Philly Marathon cause of ITBS. 

I've been doing A.R.T and Graston but it's by no means a "cure".  The Foam Roller is also a god-send.  Buy one asap and start rolling.  But all these things will help you rehabilitate slowly - time and rest are the only cures. 

The second you are running and you feel an ITB twitch, Stop Immed.  Running through the pain will only make the band flare up and prolong your recovery. 

Try to run on the treadmill.  The crowned roads tend to aggravate the condition. 

Good Luck.

Yup, good point. I was started to have IT Band issues this summer (rolling and stretching helped a ton, as others have said) and running on cambered trail sections that sloped down to the outside really did a number on the side that was hurting. So I tried to stick to the parts of the trail that were flat, since running towards the middle of the trail would get me yelled at by the cyclists.