Let’s talk about Iliotibial Band Syndrome (also known as ITBS or IT Band Syndrome). IT band pain is one of the most common complaints or injuries we see with our athletes at Foundation. IT band pain typically manifests as an overuse injury that creates pain of the outer part of the thigh or lateral knee. IT band injuries are most common in runners and cyclists.

So what is the IT band anyway? 

The iliotibial band is a thick band of fascia that begins at the iliac crest in the pelvis (top of the hip bone) and runs down the lateral part of the thigh attaching just past the knee. The band of tissue is formed from the gluteal muscles (gluteus medius and gluteus minimus) and the TFL muscle (Tensor Fasciae Latae). 

When we talk about overuse injuries we are talking about repetitive micro stress to a tissue. This means that you are creating small amounts of stress to the tissues over and over and over again which adds up to a larger trauma. Try standing on one leg and going down into a squat. Does your knee dive in towards the midline of your body or does it track straight over your toes? A common thing we see with runners who are experiencing lateral thigh or knee pain is a recurring collapse of the knee which happens during each step while running! With that microtrauma it’s no surprise that over time you can develop pain that is bad enough to sideline activity.

What to do about it?

There are two key components to fixing your IT band pain. The first is to loosen up the tightness that has been caused by activity (stretch, foam roll the glutes and TFL muscles, chiropractic adjustments, and muscle release to the tight muscles involved). The second is to FIX the faulty movement pattern, and for that we like to strengthen the hip abductor muscles. Below are some exercises to try at home!