After 11 months of running, I got hit by IT band syndrome a couple of months ago which manifests itself in a really sharp pain on the outside of the knee. At that time, I knew neither about the runner’s knee nor about the IT band syndrome. I was probably on mile 10 of my very first 16-mile run when my left knee suddenly just gave out. Landing was okay, but when the knee came up, it felt loose with a sharp pain on the outside of my knee. I grimaced with pain and found that even walking was difficult. I half walked, half jogged and mostly limped my way home pretty bummed about the injury. Just like my other running injuries, I was confident that I could figure out how to heal myself, though the fact that it was my knee was worrisome.
IT band syndrome
IT band syndrome
Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is a mouthful, but turns out is a leading cause of knee pain in runners. For me, I could only attribute this to my chop-stepping downhill run on Rancho PG&E trail when I was going way too fast (and enjoying ever step of it). As I would find out later, there are better techniques for running downhill, but more on that in a different blog. The IT band is a large sheath of tissue that runs along the outside of your thighs and terminates right around your knee. After a lot of reading and researching, turns out there are two kinds of knee pain. First one is under the knee cap, also known as Patellofemoral pain syndrome. The second one is caused by the IT band. Once I could isolate the pain point, I was that much closer to figuring out how to fix it.
The IT band syndrome was one injury that took, by far, the longest to heal completely. I tried foam-rolling, icing and different stretches, but after 6 weeks decided to go to my chiropractor Dr. Rachel Frozenfar. She specializes in sports injuries and was the one to introduce me to Graston Technique. From their FAQ, “It incorporates a patented form of instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization”. The instrument, turns out, is as simple as the blunt end of a dinner knife. Use the blunt end of the knife on the aching part and work it back and forth until you can feel the scar tissues break down. This is now a key home remedy for me for sore calves.
After two sessions of Graston, muscle stimulation (putting electrodes along the IT band, shins and running different wave patterns) and active release massages, I’m happy to report that my IT band syndrome is officially a goner! But the thing that I realized was this: I had focused so much in the first few months in lower-limb strengthening (see top 10 exercises after turning 40) that there was an imbalance in the upper legs (quads and thighs). I’ve since incorporated one-legged squats and lunges to my top 10 as a daily routine. And no more sticking wallets on to my back pockets while driving. 🙂 Simple, but effective tip to keep your body balanced. Lastly, anytime I even feel a small tinge on my IT band, I run with Pro-Tec IT band compression wrap which adds additional support. I celebrated the week I felt I was back with three 12+ mile runs and didn’t feel a thing!
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Yeah. I think it is important to add quads and thighs to the overall regime, not just that i feel stretching and core strengthening are crucial. Our running club has a dedicated stretching and core training guy who comes in for an hour twice a week. In my view, running injury free for long periods should be an important goal, as much as qualifying for boston should be.
I guess I’m learning it the hard way 🙂 Maybe I should start a running club! I do lots of warm-ups, but no longer stretch before or after my runs. Though I do lots of foam rolling, graston, etc, to get the blood flowing. And I hear you about injury free running and that’s exactly where the strengthening exercises come in handy.
Hey guys, I have been running for past few years and lately I increased my frequency and distance. Since the, I have have been feeling a little pain on my knees (and have gone back to usual distances). I should heed your advice seriously. One thing I do not do is much warm up. Then, I do not know much warm up suitable for running. I do some yoga in the morning, but that is it, but I run in the evenings. I took to running because it appeared much more efficient time wise, compared to say swimming which is my favorite. If I keep adding all the warm up, this advantage appears to shrink 🙂 Any pointers would help.
I spend time warming up instead of stretching (form rolling, heel walks, squats, lunges, etc). Essentially you want to get blood flowing through your lower limbs before you start running. But again, I’m no doctor, so don’t want to throw out advice carelessly. It also depends on where the pain is. Runner’s knee is less about the knee and more about the IT band.