IT band syndrome - does stretching really help?

[sunnylife]

I think I may be having a problem with the IT band in my right leg. I've been doing a bit of reading on line and a few sources seem to be recommending stretching as a way to heal.

Should you stretch a cold muscle or just stretch after a work out?

Anyone else fallen foul of the IT band and beaten it?
- sunny

[beforewisdom]

What are your symptoms?

[andyO]

Hi Sunnylife,

I had a nasty case of ITB induced pain in leg that stopped me running. I found that a combination of rest and stretches that my physio showed me did the trick. The hardest bit was resting for a couple of weeks before getting back to running. Now I always do the ITB stretches I was shown before (as part of my warmup i.e. a slow jog followed by stretches) and after hard workouts .

Hope that's some help.

[Mr. Cleetus]

I've had ITB issues multiple times over the years. It's always seemed to me that stretching and icing were the only thing that helped in the end (tho its not always possible to know). Glutes are the important thing for me, but I know it is hip flexors (TFL) on the front for others. People also seem to have reasonable success with foam rollers.

I've always had physios have me doing stretching many times throughout the day - not only directly after a work out.

Werent your knee problems on the inside? Thats not typical for ITB syndrome, eh? Its typically on the outside of the knee where the ITB crosses the knee. It can be easy to see your ITB if you are overly tight like me!

[sunnylife]

Werent your knee problems on the inside? Thats not typical for ITB syndrome, eh? Its typically on the outside of the knee where the ITB crosses the knee. It can be easy to see your ITB if you are overly tight like me!

You know, I think I was describing it badly. When I said "inside" I meant literally inside the knee, on a heel strike it felt as though the pain was right where the two bones of my leg meet. I noticed the screeching pain on the outside of my right knee when I did a groin stretch, or any stretch that put my bent right leg with a knee down to the floor.

I've been trying a couple of stretches I found on the internet http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/injuries.html , but I'm having trouble feeling the stretch - which I can only assume means I'm doing it wrong (sigh).

While I'm taking a break from running to let this thing get sorted I'm planning some trips to the weight room at the gym. I guess my heart was fighting fit and ready for the increased mileage but my legs were still a wee bit too wobbly to handle the distance. Another lesson learned!

[ultra_whippet]

Try this article - it's the best resource I've found, and helped me to get over my IT band problems pretty quickly. I personally found the foam roller and strengthening of glute medius were much more important than the stretching.