IT Band - experiences?
 

I've been riding with my saddle to low, and its created all kind of ITB issues. I have had a bike fit, so have now fixed the underlying cause (pronations + saddle height), but my symptoms don't seem to be going away. My PT got me using a foam roller, but its been 10 days with no changes.

I actually don't get any pain on the bike, but walking around its always a tad sore. Has anyone else got through this? experiences? How long did your inflammation take to settle down? I also took a week off the bike, after the initial injury.

Incredible frustrated. Online there seems to be mixed reviews of foam rollers effectiveness. Is my PT uninformed?

I would suggest yoga classes. Sorry about your frustration but it could be your IT band, it could be your Psoas, your hip flexors, your core. Foam rollers are good. I like yoga for increasing flexibility because it really helps you get into a better more aero position on the bike.

I had one bad round with IT band issues a year and a half ago. I think mine was increased due to a prior broken femur - I don't think they ever get those put back together exactly straight.


Anyway, I went to a chiro/sports therapist. He did acupuncture and hooked mild electric current to the needles while inserted. Then he did shockwave treatment. This was the first time I'd ever been to such a doctor & thought the procedures were that of a witch doctor at first. However, he fixed my issue.

It's going to take more than 10 days. Try yoga and then start working on some squats and deadlifts.

Spent a period of a year and a half a few years back with IT issues. That was running related but....
First, foam roller. A worthwhile investment.
The plunger and manual massage oddly enough work well.
Best overall result and ‘cure’ I found was from the acupuncturist using needle therapy into the band and related muscles.
Also, as you go, take a rubber band and do stretching and strengthening.
It is a slow process, in the meantime though you corrected the cause take it easy until it straightens out.

I had IT issues 1-2 years ago. A small part of it may have been seat height, but most of the problem was due to improper cleat/pedal alignment.
There were a few times when I would barely finish a ride - the pain was so bad.
Then right after the ride, I could barely go down a flight of stairs (going up wasn't much of an issue). I was going to call a doctor to set up an appointment...but the next day there was a lot of improvement. By the 3rd day there wasn't much discomfort.

So after consulting a few, ahem, "health professionals" here - I knew it was due to seat height and/or cleat alignment. Went to the bike shop and got it straightened out.
I haven't had a problem since. So now I know to wear my white shoes with my white bike and my silver or black shoes with my silver bike, as the cleat setup is appropriate for each bike.

Your mileage may vary, but my problem didn't last long at all - like I said, a few days. No issues since.

I messed up my IT band early on during a tour back in June. Likely cause was that the piece of tape used to mark seat height came off during bike shipping and my saddle was either too low or too high. Craziest thing. I could ride fine and with no pain, but my right leg was incredibly painful when I tried to walk. After the 4th or 5th day things calmed down.


On the flip side, back in '89 I did a near century at the end of the summer having not ridden a distance greater than maybe 25 miles all year. Got it bad in both knees to the point that the bands clicked when I walked. (Again, I has shipped my bike and the saddle was height was probably off.) It took months and many PT sessions to get over it.


Everyone is different. Every injury is different. Ergo, recovery can span the spectrum.

strained mine several years ago. was struggling with it for 6 months. finally started using the foam roller regularly & I believe that stopped the struggle. I suggest a smaller roller for this injury because the larger ones are too difficult to manage in the position required

There's several ways you can try dealing with cranky muscles:
- Soft foam roller
- Hard foam roller
- Stick roller - https://www.amazon.com/Stick-Travel-..._1_3_a_it?th=1
- Small object to massage the muscles - a lacross ball is often suggested but I found something on amazon called "The Original Knobble" that worked better for me. Pin it between the floor and the muscle you want to massage and move the muscle.
- Vibrating messaging foam roller
- Sports massage
- Active Release Technique (you pay someone to do it)
- Graston Technique (another pay to do it) - this is the one that worked decently for me on my quads
- Dry Needling, it's sort of like accupuncture, they put thin needles into your muscles trying to stimulate them into fixing themselves

When I seriously injured my leg doing barbell squats (I don't recommend them), my IT band was in pain for 3 months before it healed up on it's own. Foam rolling plus a warmup routine finally got rid of the immediate pain, but it wasn't until the Knobble thing that I felt like I had really worked it out.

I'm still working through options to try to fix my overly short and tight quad muscles.

Do you by chance have a knee problem on the effected leg other than the ITB pain? If so, that would be an underlying issue.

10 days isn't enough time for a soft tissue injury to heal, and if it isn't improved in 6 weeks going to see someone with more training would be the next step.

I had knee pain, which was caused by IT band tightness, which was caused by weakness in the piriformis, which is a small muscle in your butt, under the gluteus maximus. It was relieved by ibuprofen, stretching, foam rolling, but mostly by strengthening exercises.

I have ongoing IT band issues that flair from time to time if I don't use my foam roller before and after rides along with stretching. Since your bike was not fitted properly like mine was not you may have tight hamstrings also which can also give you IT band issues, once I started rolling and stretching both it has gotten a lot better! I have a hand roller I take in my truck when i drive to a ride spot and roll before I go.