You CAN beat ITBS!!
Like you, I have had this pain in my knee (sometimes in both knees!). I've spent a number of hours searching some of the primary Internet search engines, so you don't have to.
Let me start off by saying that I have NO FORMAL MEDICAL TRAINING. I’m simply someone who suffered through ITBS off and on for 7 years and talked with a lot of people about it. If you think you might have ITBS, I strongly recommend you get a formal evaluation by a doctor who specializes in Sports Medicine or a Physical Therapist.
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...with a very brief summary of treatments for ITBS.
What's New:
10/17/04 - Added link to additional ITBS overview.
1/17/04 - Gottardo Pestalozzi of Zurich sent me a link to 'Walt Reynolds's ITB Special' exercise. You’ll find it under Treatments. Gottardo swears that 4 weeks of it enabled him to bike 6-8 hours per day.
10/12/03 - Angela Lewis, PT writes to correct information from James Jowdy about her profession, especially information about your ability to see PTs for diagnosis.
8/9/03 - Added a note from a reader about her hypothyroidism and possible connection to her ITBS. It includes a link to a good article on hypothyroidism and tendonitis.
5/13/03 - An athletic trainer wrote to correct my understanding of when to see a P.T., the training that athletic trainers have in helping ITBS, when not to stretch, and appropriate strategies for pool running. Thanks James!
2/27/03 - Ads be gone! Thanks to all those who gave! - Stew
9/19/02 - I finished looking through the new book on ITBS, mentioned below. In my opinion, it’s a total waste of money, as it provides very little information about ITBS itself, and looks to me as if it was rehashed from the content of a general book on knee injuries, with ITBS inserted at various places. I’ve looked through the entire book and I’m returning it for a refund.
8/17/02 - Added a better description to the classic ITB stretch. Unfortunately, no one besides Ann Stewart seems inclined to donate to support this site...
7/4/02 - Added the PayPal donation button at the left. Thanks to all who donate!
6/30/02 - New book on ITBS called Official Patient's SourceBook on Iliotibial Band Syndrome, orderable through Barnes and Noble.
6/25/02 - Moved website to its own domain! Update your bookmark to: https://itbs.info
02/23/01 - Fixed signup form for e-mail discussion groups.
01/08/01 - Found a great new article describing ITBS.
10/3/00 - The discussion group activity continues to grow. You can now order the Patt-Strap via the Pattstrap.com catalog.
10/2/00 - Site listed on PattStrap web site as Daily Bookmark.
6/10/00 - My wife and I hiked in the Smokie Mountains for 6 days straight. I recommended the Patt-Strap to folks with ITBS.
5/1/00 - My wife also has mild ITBS when she hikes. The Patt-Strap clearly helped her!
9/7/99 - Fabrifoam, the company that makes the Patt-Strap, now has their own web site. I recommend this device to all ITBS sufferers.
10/25/98 - Added variation on classic ITB stretch
I have continued to have good success with the Patt-Strap and recommend it to all.
4/17/98 - I went for a 10-minute run with the Patt-Strap and didn't experience any ITBS pain.
Patt-Strap knee wrap - Study at U.S. Naval Academy suggests it can help prevent ITBS symptoms.
The guest book can be used to commiserate about your ITBS problems and share treatments and solutions to ITBS. However, I don't read it regularly, so if you want to contact me, send e-mail.
Merlin59 went under the knife to get part of his ITB removed. Follow his surgery and recovery under "Other's History".
Summary of treatments for ITBS:
First off, we all want to be able to run again. We get depressed if we can't. Not running sucks.
If you rush back to running, you'll never break the injury cycle. Patience is tough, but required to get over a bout of ITBS. Patience in NOT running, patience in increasing mileage very slowly. Take a month off of no running, biking, or squatting-type exercises, like lunges. Every time you bend your knee to a 45-degree angle, you're rubbing your ITB against one of the knee bones, which causes inflammation and pain.
Help inflammation go away with RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. I’m also a believer in NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.—NOT Tylenol). After it's no longer tender, try warming up with non-inflammatory exercises, and do a good series of stretches for your legs in general and specifically for your ITB. As depressing as this may sound, that's what you need to do for the first month after your last ITBS bout. Also, check through the ITBS website for different possible causes (worn shoes, biomechanical problems, etc.) and address them. Then start again slowly: running 5 minutes every other day the first week; the second week, add 5 minutes each time (10 minutes 3 times during the week); continue adding no more than 5 minutes to each run each week.
If you feel pain at your ITB, STOP RUNNING RIGHT AWAY. Go to the side of the road and stretch your ITB for at least 2 minutes. Then walk home. Ice up and take your favorite NSAIDS. Take the next day off, and start again with the previous week's time. Stretch more. If it acts up again, go to a pro—a good physical therapist who commonly treats ITBS.
Between 11/1/96 - 3/20/97, there were 1,165 ITBS sufferers to look here for relief. Between 3/21/97 - 6/25/02, there have been approximately 110,500 ITBS sufferers to look here for relief. I hope you find help here too!
As I’ve said, I’m not a medical person, but I’ve learned lots about ITBS. You can write with questions, but please try to read through the ideas on this site first. I’d also like to hear about people’s successes or failures with treatments, which I’ll add to the site.
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