Ok, whatever.  I'm not posting here to get slammed for building up to fast or running a marathon 7 months after I started running.  I asked for advice about the band. If you have some, great.  If not, move on.  I know what the cause is of my IT band issue is - like I outlined above - and it's being resolved, if you read the subsequent posts.

???

I provided my advice, same as many others to address the underlying cause... which you are and good luck.  And the idea that the strap will help you run through it.

But I think it is reasonable to point out that IT band is not one of those things people running high mileage, as a general group, suffer through.  It's more of a TMTS thing.  Which you are addressing.  I'm not trying to "slam" you, I'm giving you reasonable feedback.  And sincerely wishing you good luck.

I wrote what I wrote in response to "it happens when you are running the miles I am running."  I hope you understand how that sentence sounds from the perspective of someone who has been running high miles for years and years.

 

 

I wrote what I wrote in response to "it happens when you are running the miles I am running."  I hope you understand how that sentence sounds from the perspective of someone who has been running high miles for years and years.

For context, the quote actually was:

"Ok, maybe injury is the wrong word.  I don't know what you call it - but soreness, stuff like this, it happens when you are running the miles I am running.  I ran 40 v. the 70-80 miles I wanted to run last week and 60 v. the 70-80 I wanted to run the week prior. It's not like I can't run at all here."

Ok, so you - SRL - you run lots of miles and you don't get soreness or have to reduce your mileage ever.  That's wonderful.  I certainly wasn't slamming your expertise as a high mileage runner.  You are one of the highest mileage runners I know.  I value your opinion as such.  I didn't appreciate being slammed for my mileage build up and that is how I read your initial response, especially in light of the fact that my PT is certain it is a biomechanical issue.  I am sensitive when it comes to this matter b/c I've taken flak for it before.

Sure I do.  But I don't include ITBS in that "soreness; stuff like this".  I know a few long term runners who have dealt with IT stuff periodically.  But mostly, that comes up on beginner boards, for a reason.  In all cases, the issues are similar though.  Which have been discussed in this thread.  I didn't think it was that evil to point out that going from 0 to a lot of miles in 9 months involves lots of physiological body changes which have to happen in concert... but some aspects take longer than others.  That's good feedback EVERYONE should get.

Anyway, sorry for saying stuff that pissed you off because I did not intend to piss you off and I don't want you to be pissed off.  I was trying to help.  Good luck.

It's a strap.  Try it out.  It may help.

I was pissed off for a hot minute, but I'm over it.  I clearly am not running enough if I have all this pent up angst.

 

I just want to get back to running normally so I can train well for my next race.  That's all.

SRL is right and I understand your frustration at the situation, but I have dealt with this injury before and it can be debilitating if you don't take the time to rehab and correct the things that the PT has told you about. I am not lecturing you, merely sharing my personal experiences with ITBS.

It wasn't until I stopped doing 40 mpw and dropped WAY back to heal and incorporate strength training and rehab exercises like hip hikes, clamshells, donkey kicks, etc. that I healed up. I still have flares if I am not good about continuing the exercises to keep that medial glute strength where it needs to be.

The one thing I noticed on almost everyone's resolution goals was to heal from an injury. That happens when folks don't address form issues and start stacking on miles before they have the physiological changes that are required to be able to pull off a higher volume running schedule.  It isn't a personal dig, just an observation. Promise.

 There was a guy at my last marathon whose legs were COVERED in KT tape.  He must have taped for, like, every ailment that can be taped.  I'm hoping he thought it was preventative, not that he actually was injured in that many places.

Maybe he was 'tapering'.

So that is what that strap is for! Sometimes you see people out running with the and I wonder why. Got it!

I hope it helps you like you are hoping it will.

I had no idea this was the Friday meltdown thread?! Some people seem to like to say "I told ya so!" whether or not it is warranted. You might have gotten this issue right now, even if you had ramped up slowly. Plenty of people get injuries on low mileage as well.

It's like if we get ANY running injury(or have an accident while running) and the non runners in our lives say "See, I told you running is dangerous/bad for you/asking for it!"

Are we more likely to get injured just by the shear act of running or is it the fact that we ARE active that puts us at risk for injury vs laying on the couch.

Do we want to help our injured brethren stay healthy? Well, certainly. But do we have to kick them when they are down? Surely not.

Now if OP is back here year after year with the same issue and the cause is super obvious, then fine. But I don't think 1 injury in 10 months is proof that, indeed, we told ya so.

My tiny 2 cents worth.

 

I had IT problems starting shortly after I ran Boston in 1994. It started in the right leg, knee area. I had this problem for a little over 2 years. Went to the left leg, knee area. Sucked, sucked, sucked. Had to drop out of another marathon at mile 18 because of the pain. Sucked!

 

My problem wasn't a weak core, my problem was an imbalance between the muscles on the lateral side and the muscles on the medial side of my legs. Lateral side muscles were much tighter. I have a tendency to stand with my toes pointed ever so slightly outward. Over time, this "shortened" the lateral side muscles, creating the imbalance. Add to this the loathing I had for stretching and voila: ITBS.

 

So I stretched. A lot. All three glutes, hamstrings, 6 deep lateral rotators (piriformis is one), quads, gastroc, soleus. I did IT band specific stretches, a bunch of them. Over time it went away. Yay!

 

Lesson learned. Stretch. Then stretch some more. Then later in the day, stretch some more. So now I try not to loathe stretching quite so much.

 

I also found a good way to "see" if my IT band is starting to get tight:

Sit on the floor with your legs/feet out in front of you. Take your fingers and palpate the outside of your thigh just above your knee on the outside of your leg. Kinda in that 'hollow' between your quadriceps and your knee.

You should be able to feel your IT band. If it feels like a band - flat, wide, it should be OK. If it feels like a pencil - round, chances are it's a tad bit tight.

 

Hope this helps.

This post is worthy of being quoted!

While I don't have the IT problems, I do/did have the muscle imbalance issue, which led to other problems.

I now stretch all day too, only just so, not overly so.  There is a difference, something I learned the hard way.