TommyL

2 weeks ago I took a knee to the thigh playing indoor soccer. My knee buckled and I was down for the count. I couldn't walk for a couple days. It turns out that while I (luckily) did not damage my knee, my IT Band was seriously messed up. The doc says that I don't need to worry about further damaging it, but it it going to hurt like heck for a long time and I shouldn't plan on doing any training any time soon.

2 weeks later, I am still in constant pain, but it is not nearly as bad as it was. Basically like somebody just gave me a dead leg but it won't go away. I still have a pronounced limp, because when I bend my knee with a load on it it buckles. On the plus die, I can finally bend my leg past 90 degrees.

Has anybody suffered a similar injury? What did you do to speed your recovery, and was it successful?

yeagerfrank

i ride/race road and mountain. i don't normally run/hike or ride more than 5/6 hours at a time. in the fall, i started having IT pain a few days after an 18 hour mtb race and a 12-mile hike. it really didn't stop until i spent about a month keeping all rides to minimal intensity and fairly low duration. during that time, i also saw a doctor who prescribed stretches, strength training, and some medicine that i quickly discontinued after it caused stomach pain/irritation. the whole thing was very frustrating, and screwed up my fall season. i'm sure this isn't good news to you - but my advice is to immediately get on your plan for low intensity rides, strength training, stretching and medicine as prescribed by a doctor. fortunately, this was caused by something other than normal riding - so you should be able to get back to that pain free in some period of time.

back4more

I have never had IT issues as bad as yours but good stretching speeds things up from running injuries and you can get a cho strap to help stabilize the IT band so you can resume sooner.

TommyL

Yeah, the injury was pretty bad, but on the plus side it is not an overuse injury. As a one time trauma injury, it may actually recover faster than otherwise. Will a cho strap actually make a difference for cycling, or is it more for walking, running? I don't really have much knee pain, just mis-firing under load. I am kind of thinking that with a good spin the knee won't present too much of an issue if I stay in the saddle.

mawtangent

I didn't see it mentioned, and I'm not sure it applies to the OP's situation, but using a foam roller can really help with IT Band syndrome issues (it got rid of nagging knee pain for me). There's a lot a info on the net and here on BF that discusses using the foam roller (better than I could explain it).

383

When you get to the point where you think you can handle it, I wrote out a plan to help get over IT Band syndrome. The link to it is below in my signature. It worked for me and others have benefited from it as well, hopefully you can get something from it too.

TommyL

I'm going to see if I can track down a foam roller. Thanks for the link; that is a great synthesis of the pertinent information. I'm not quite past ice and basic stretches, but I can't wait to get a roller onto my legs. There are so many spots on my leg that are messed up from the injury, I can't wait to break it all up!

mpath

I'm a runner and have been nursing a tender IT band for months. It's not an uncommon thing for runners - if it's not one thing, it's another. Besides recovery through physiotherapy such as foam rollers, you'll need to be disciplined enough to ice it and stretch it. It can be difficult for us folks with active lifestyles to wait out an injury, but oftentimes the rest period is a critical component to recovery.

Phil85207

X2
I feel for you. Take it easy and don't keep it inflamed. It's tough to do but otherwise it will take forever to get over. Good luck.

rumrunn6

keep researching. I would bet your trauma is very different than common IT issues. VERY different. You might consider taking up a no-load sport like swimming. it did a world of good for me even though I had a common IT injury. for me, the foam roller had a dramatic impact on recovery. here's a warning for you though, using a foam roller is painful. I seriously think resting the IT band, not stressing it under load and keeping up your personal training through no-load exercises would be best. however, so as not to totally discount the foam roller in your situation, I have read that using one can help with scar tissue, like it helps dissolve it or something. I would imagine though that your injury would be best served by not aggravating it further. an additional plug for swimming: it's an amazing workout for the whole body not just the upper body. for a little over a year I taught myself to swim and regularly swam 1500 meters, albeit not like a pro, twice a week. I saw tremendous gains in physical fitness including additional development in my legs and glutes. the effect on my upper torso really impressed me. my IT Band is not a problem anymore and I'm sure you will make a full recovery, just don't rush it, it's a dam important and key component of your entire leg. this time next year you'll be out of the saddle rockin' the big hills again. now go find the guy that kneed you in the thigh and punch him in the head. (only kidding)