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Old 03-11-13, 05:24 PM
  #6  
Inertianinja
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The stretches Carbonfiberboy posted won't help your IT bands.

I had IT band problems and went to an orthopedic surgeon about it, then months of physical therapy. Here's some of the stuff I learned:

You have to get a professional fit. Cycling with an incorrect fit causes certain muscles to get stronger faster than others, amplifying the problem, and causing ligament problems.
If the ligaments on one side of your knee are tighter than the others, your knee is out of balance, and grinding away cartilage.

You can't really "stretch" your IT bands with any of the positions you normally do, and your IT bands (just like your medial ligaments) go much higher and lower than your knee.

The best way to stretch them is to get a foam roller and roll them, 5 minutes per side, after every ride. It's stretching by pressure, kind of like kneading dough.
This is how you do it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoHBDim_fzk

It will hurt like hell at first, because they're very tight...but eventually they'll loosen up and feel great.

Just do it, please don't wait like I did, and end up off the bike for 6 months.
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