So your running along one a sunny Sunday morning, the wind is flowing through your hair and your body feels great –or does it? A sudden sharp pain on the outside of your knee starts about 5 km into your run. What the heck is that?! Your forced to cut your run short and you are NOT happy about it. The next day you try again and about 1km into your run the pain starts again and AGAIN you have to stop running, and this time you didn’t even break a sweat! Now you are really MAD! WHAT IS THIS PAIN?!
Iliotibial band syndrome or “ITBS” is cited as the second most common running injury (Tucker 2009) and is experienced as a burning or aching pain at the hip or outside of the knee. Pain increases when the knee is bent or straightened, going down stairs, or at a specific point during a run. Pain often decreases or goes away after a run.
What the heck is the iliotibial band? It is a long band of fascial or connective tissue that runs from the top of the hip down the side of the leg, attaching to the lower leg.
What is the cause of ITBS? The primary cause is too much too soon. The constant rubbing caused by the repetitive nature of hundreds or thousands of steps, before your body has adapted to the demand, leads to inflammation, irritation and scar- like tissue with poor blood and nerve supply.
Can I run through it? Not if the pain is severe.
As the condition worsens, pain comes on earlier in a run, no longer resolve after the run, or starts to bother you during daily activities. If not treated pain could prevent you from running for weeks!
How the heck do you fix it?
To reduce pain try ice or anti-inflammatories, modify your mileage or intensity, or seek professional help for ultrasound or acupuncture.
Strengthen weak gluteal muscles, and stretch or foam roller tight structures. Great exercises to increase gluteus medius strength include clamshells, leg raises, fire hydrants, or side jumps onto a bosu.
Gradually increase your painfree-mileage when returning from injury, making sure to cross train with short bouts on different machines to reduce the constant repetitive irritation on the outside structures. Try running faster rather than further as you gradually get back to running.
If it won’t go away? This type of injury can really end a season if you don’t get on top of it right away. I would suggest seeking treatment by a Physiotherapist, Massage Therapist, or Doctor early on. If this is a chronic thing for you make sure to get assessed to ensure you aren’t suffering from other conditions with similar symptoms such injury to the knee joint, or stress fracture.
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