Advice needed! IT band flare-up.

[Dominique12]

Hi all!

First of all a bit of background about myself... I have been lurking in the shadows of this forum since 2016 when I first started Couch to 5km. I fell off the bandwagon around week 6 and then didn't go back to running until September 2018. After restarting C25K I successfully completed Week 9 Run 3 in November. Since then I have gone on to follow JuJu's Bridge to 10k plan and fallen in love with running!

I'm not much of a poster, but this platform has been a great source of motivation and support whilst doing this. After completing a couple of 10k's I decided to bite the bullet and sign up for a Half Marathon. All was going well until last weekend disaster struck! I ran a nice steady 12km with stunning views and all was going well, I felt great, the whole run felt comfortable and I was able to keep a conversational pace. However as soon as I stopped my right knee seized up leaving me barely able to walk - let alone go down any stairs. A bit of googling tells me this is IT band syndrome. I am currently doing everything I can, lots of stretching, ice and rest. Do you think I will still be able to run the half marathon on 30th June? Is there anything else I should be doing to help? I'm hating being stuck on the IC!

Sorry for the long winded post! Thanks in advance for any advice you can give

[over61andstilltrying Graduate10]

Hello to you Dominique12, I am sorry to hear of your flare up. It doesn't sound good at all. I am also sorry that I do not have any knowledge in this area and hope someone will soon be along to help. There is also the Marathon Running and Race Support forum, so if you post there too you may find a wider cross section of runners to help you. I expect that you will see the advice of a doctor or sports physio if your google searches have not provided what you need.

Congratulations on all that you have achieved so far. It is lovely to read of your enjoyment of running. I hope you find the help that you need soon so that running can continue.

Here are some flowers for you 🌸🌺🌼 I do hope that you are soon off the ic.

[Irishprincess Graduate10]

I feel your pain. I've suffered from this to some degree for three years and mine too struck when I was training for a HM. I wish I could offer you a magic cure but I haven't found one yet that works for me. If you do a search for ITB syndrome you'll get bombarded with lots of conflicting advice which isn't any help to us.

Based on my own experience this is what I did to manage it.

Rest immediately. I was advised to take six weeks off. Sorry ☹️ I know this is not what you want to hear and your case might be different to mine so don't think you'll have to take this length of time off. But you should perhaps get a proper diagnosis from a sports physio and take their advice. But rest is the only thing to do at the minute.

Icing didn't help, heat didn't help. Stretching didn't help but did make it feel better. I got my gait analysed by a podiatrist and he gave me orthotics because he thought my foot turned out slightly and my pelvis was a bit lop-sided which he reckoned contributed to the ITB pain. So, another option for you is to see a podiatrist to check your running gait and posture, etc.

Common theories are that it's caused by weak glutes, tight hip flexors or tight calves and ankles. I foam roll these areas regularly and get a sports massage once a month. I also do strength exercises especially for the glutes and core. This has kept it at bay but I still have a twinge once in a while especially if I get tired on a long run. But I know how to manage it now. I increase distance in very small increments and have learned to listen to my aches very carefully.

I'm still searching for magic cures and only last week I found a trigger point for the syndrome which seems to have helped but time will tell. But this is a very well balanced article which you might find useful, probably the best one I've read in a long time.

painscience.com/articles/co...

The good news is that you will recover from this and you will run again. You just need to find out what's causing it and manage it.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you're getting on.

[BaddieThePirate Graduate10]

Sorry to hear about your problem. If you're on the IC for a while I recommend buying a cello and learning to play that to keep your mind off not being able to run!

[Dexy5 Graduate10]

Hello and well done on your achievements so far. If I were you I would book up an appointment with a sports physio and get some professional advice - they are worth every penny as they get you back running again faster.

[cheekychipmunks Graduate10]

Hi Dominique, so sorry to read of your injury. I have nothing constructive to add except to agree with the others, and recommend you rest for starters, and then arrange to see a sports physio.

I hope you’re able to get sorted sooner rather than later. 🤞😀