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06-06-05, 04:44 PM
Well I took 3 weeks off from running after beginning to experience ITB pain. I filled in some of those running days with light spin rides, and continued with my normal biking. Tried to run today, and unfortunately had the same issue. After appx 1 mile the pain rears it's ugly head again. Not severe by any means, but definitely noticeable. After reading this article below, i'm now thinking it's the biking causing the problem, not the running? Possibly incorrect cleat setting? I have never had a knee injury before, nor had I ever used clipless pedals before this April. Have any of you ever experienced ITB from biking rather than running? If so, did a specific adjustment correct the problem? My tri is in two weeks so i'll just have to deal with the pain during the run (3.1 miles), but i'd sure like to get this corrected afterwards.
CYCLING:
The sport of cycling has steadily increased in popularity since the 1980s and so has the incidence of ITBFS in cyclists. Although cycling is considered to be less abusive to weightbearing joints because there is no heel strike, there is potential for overuse problems from repetition (7).
In cycling, with each pedaling stroke, the ITB is pulled anteriorly on the downstroke and posteriorly on the upstroke (8). Knee flexion and extension occur approximately 4800 times an hour ( at an average cadence of 80 revolutions per minute ), so the ITB is especially susceptible to repetitive irritation (7). The posterior fibers of the ITB that contour more closely to the lateral femoral epicondyle seem to be especially susceptible to friction irritation while pedaling (8).
BIKE FIT
- Active pronation with internal tibial rotation increases tension on the ITB. Look for cleats that are excessively internally rotated in the cyclist with ITBFS complaints. Cleat position should be corrected to reflect the cyclist's anatomic alignment or can be externally rotated to reduce stretch on the ITB. If the cyclist is riding with fixed clipless pedals, a switch to floating pedals is often beneficial. Seat position may be too high or too aft and should be adjusted to 30 to 35 degrees of flexion at dead bottom of the pedaling stroke (8).
Spacers can also be placed between the pedal and the crankarm to reduce stress on the ITB by widening the cyclist's stance on the bike and improve hip to foot alignment. Other variants include: leg length discrepancies, active internal tibial rotation or pronation while pedaling, excessive hill work and increased mileage. For further information please refer to the two articles by Holmes listed in the reference section.
Full ITB article (http://www.csuchico.edu/phed/atc/Projects/ITband/ITBFS.html)
CYCLING:
The sport of cycling has steadily increased in popularity since the 1980s and so has the incidence of ITBFS in cyclists. Although cycling is considered to be less abusive to weightbearing joints because there is no heel strike, there is potential for overuse problems from repetition (7).
In cycling, with each pedaling stroke, the ITB is pulled anteriorly on the downstroke and posteriorly on the upstroke (8). Knee flexion and extension occur approximately 4800 times an hour ( at an average cadence of 80 revolutions per minute ), so the ITB is especially susceptible to repetitive irritation (7). The posterior fibers of the ITB that contour more closely to the lateral femoral epicondyle seem to be especially susceptible to friction irritation while pedaling (8).
BIKE FIT
- Active pronation with internal tibial rotation increases tension on the ITB. Look for cleats that are excessively internally rotated in the cyclist with ITBFS complaints. Cleat position should be corrected to reflect the cyclist's anatomic alignment or can be externally rotated to reduce stretch on the ITB. If the cyclist is riding with fixed clipless pedals, a switch to floating pedals is often beneficial. Seat position may be too high or too aft and should be adjusted to 30 to 35 degrees of flexion at dead bottom of the pedaling stroke (8).
Spacers can also be placed between the pedal and the crankarm to reduce stress on the ITB by widening the cyclist's stance on the bike and improve hip to foot alignment. Other variants include: leg length discrepancies, active internal tibial rotation or pronation while pedaling, excessive hill work and increased mileage. For further information please refer to the two articles by Holmes listed in the reference section.
Full ITB article (http://www.csuchico.edu/phed/atc/Projects/ITband/ITBFS.html)