To Paraphrase Eric "Don't Always Walk on the ... - Couch to 5K

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To Paraphrase Eric "Don't Always Walk on the Right Side of the Road"

AnnieW55 profile image
4 Replies

Net surfing the other day and out of curiosity I looked up ITband a problem

that has afflicted several people on here. One thing I did see about it

and I haven't seen anyone mention (but then again I may have just missed

that conversation, sorry if that's the case) is that it can be caused by

imbalance.

"IT band syndrome is common in runners who perform unbalanced, repetitive

exercise such as running only on one side of a crowned road, or only

running one way around a track. Most roads slope off to the sides and

running along the edge causes to the outside foot to be lower than the

inside foot. This in turn causes the pelvis to tilt to one side and

stresses the IT band."

Just thought I'd mention this as pavements are often sloping too and it is

easy to get into the habit of doing the same run on the same side of the

road, especially if like me, your options for running are severely limited

during the dark evenings. I've got one circular route which I love in one

direction and hate in the other and one "out and back" which I don't

really like as I prefer to do circular routes.

Anyway, as I say, sorry if it's already been discussed. And if not, this

is another bit of information that might help someone.

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AnnieW55 profile image
AnnieW55
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4 Replies
sfb350 profile image
sfb350Graduate

I've read about this theory too and it does make sense. I had a hip injury last year and noticed it was worse when running on a camber. The book I was reading suggested that even things like always carrying your shopping on one side or sitting cross legged would create an imbalance. When I go to yoga classes I notice that a lot of the poses are much easier on one side than they are on the other.

Don't apologise for mentioning it - I think it is a good piece of information to be aware of.

swanscot profile image
swanscotGraduate

A while back I'd read about the potential imbalance our body is subjected to from walking on roads with a camber and always try to avoid this.

Where I run the roads are singletrack (that is, one car width with passing places) and no pavements or wide verges. I usually run along the centre of the road as each side slopes down slightly, but this was a problem earlier this week in the frosty conditions. It's usually mid morning (if at all) before the council gritter does our road and there was a fair bit of ice on the road. The 'wheel tracks' at the sides were free of ice due to the movement of traffic, but the centre has ice and was too slippery to run on comfortably - I was running all tensed up for fear of falling. With suffering from an IT band injury, I was not prepared to run any distance on the cambered side and I shortened my run.

bunnydunford profile image
bunnydunfordGraduate

Having had pelvic problems since my second pregnancy these caused IT band issues for me. I only started running in the summer after 6 months of physio and it hadn't occurred to me that the route rather than just the impact of running might be contributing to this so thanks for mentioning it. Returning to physio again soon but hopefully I can help myself in the meantime.

SBG356 profile image
SBG356Graduate

Yes I have read this in the past too and always vary my circuit of roads by going in the opposite direction. So far no injuries since starting this back in August......

Thanks for posting Annie; I'm sure it will be very useful to many here :)

Sue

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