IT Band Syndrome (ITBS)

What is it?

This injury is called a bunch of different things... IT Band (Friction) Syndrome, ITBS (which is way too close in letters to IBS for my liking), and Runner's Knee. It usually manifests itself as pain on the outside of the knee (especially during flexion and extension... in other words, running), although the entire IT Band can feel tight. Sometimes people experience a clicking sensation as the tendon snaps across the joint, weakness in hip abduction, and/or tender trigger points in the gluteal area.

What causes it?
ITBS is a (over)use injury. A sudden increase in hill running, running on an uneven surface, and/or weak hip muscles (especially the gluteus medius) can often cause this injury to flare up.

What can I do to prevent it?

• Ease into hill training
• Avoid running on only one side of the road (or in the same direction around the track)
• Opt for softer surfaces
• Get a good warm-up in and stretch (tight gluteal or quadriceps muscles can contribute)
• IT Band strengthening exercies (but avoid squats if it's already bugging you)

What can I do if I already have it?

• RICE
• Stretch
• Foam roller / deep tissue massage 
• Anti-inflammatories or a cortisone injection (in severe cases)
• IT Band wrap (we sell the Pro Tec one at RRO)
• Abnormal biomechanics can also be the culprit (i.e., excessive pronation, leg length discrepancies, lateral pelvic tilt, "bowed" legs), which may require physical therapy.

What are the best shoes for it?
If you pronate, make sure you're in a stability shoe. Other than that, replacing your shoes when they need to be (approximately every 400-miles for normal training shoes, maybe less for some of the lighter-weight, more minimalist models) is probably the biggest issue.