IT Band issues...
 

Anyone have problems with their IT band and if so how did you overcome it? Earlier this month I did a Century with about 8K feet of climbing and at about mile 80 after most of the climbing was done, I had a sharp pain on the outside of my left knee. I could barely bend that knee it was so painful. Limped in to the last feed zone and found some ibuprofen and that along with walking around and stretching allowed me to finish. Now, it seems just about every time I go out for a ride, I can feel the pain coming on. Sometimes at just 15 miles and sometimes not until 45 or so. I am afraid to push it anymore.
My doctor gave me some stretches I could do to help and suggested a foam roller and ice after each ride but is there anything you all have changed that made a difference? This was the most climbing I had done all year so figured it was just too much for my knee and perhaps not being fit enough.

Get that foam roller ...love mine ..be warned that thing will bring tears to your eyes

+1billion. I've had issues with my left IT band for several years and the foam rollers have saved me. With out this wonderful device I would have had to have given up cycling. I use mine after my ride and before bed every night. Seriously these things are a god send for fixing IT band issues.

Does anybody have a link to the Foam Roller they use? My wife (just started running) is really struggling with IT band issues.

A rolling pin works as a substitute and is cheaper and easier to find.

Any of these should work http://www.performbetter.com/SearchR...tegoryID_E_235

I do a lot of stretching after rides and use The Stick - http://www.thestick.com/products/sti...Sprinter_Stick

incorrect

link

For those of us who are a little in the dark, here's a link.

Which century was it, JF1?

Thanks

Another + for the foam rollers.

I also used a PattStrap, which is a strap that's wrapped just above the knee and helped me while running.

See pattstrap.com.

I had IT band issues a while back. Simple lack of stretching. The stretches the doctor gave me worked OK, but not great.

One day at our company gym, I was looking at a "Precor stretch trainer" machine and thought I'd give it a go. WOW. In one week my IT band felt better. In one month i was more flexible in my legs than i had ever been. Here it is: http://www.bigfitness.com/prsttr.html

Of course, I'm not recommending you buy one for $900, but maybe you can find one in a gym somewhere.

Roller +1, also stretch.

Stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch, stretch, and stretch.

Not IT Band issue, but with my hamstring, my PT told me to stop all the stretching and just focus on strengthening.

Tour of Park City. I just did the Century, not the race. Did you do it?

Thanks folks. Sounds like the foam roller is essential. So does this mean I need to use it often in order to keep the pain at bay or do I use it once in a while and it is good for a while?

I'm going to look in to this if the roller and stretches don't work. Thanks.

Stretches, ice (I use a bag of frozen peas for convenience) 2x per day whether I ride or not. I need to pick up a roller.

for me personally, stretching did NOTHING to help the IT band issue i had with my left leg during some rides. honestly, it's nearly impossible to do the proper IT band stretching before a ride, because anything you do at the house before the ride will wear off by the time you actually start the ride...

with that said, i got a foam roller at Target for $22.50 and it's helped me out. sure, i could have gotten one cheaper on Amazon, but Target has a 90 day return policy and it was only a few dollars more. i don't use it as often as i should, but i've noticed a difference after using it. like someone else mentioned though, be prepared for some pain, because it DOES hurt until you get used to it...

Had a similar problem this year at DeathRide - my problem was my cleats were not in the correct position. I move them a bit to adjust the Q-factor (moving my shoes outward) and ITB problems gone. For initial pain, I used ice and ibuprofen.

I had a similar experience on the Mountains of Misery century. Got to mile 80 and felt a twinge, but the end of that ride I could barely straighten my legs. I seriously thought "permanent damage". But, it wasn't. Here's what I did:

4 weeks totally off the bike. 2 more weeks very easy riding. Icing a lot. Stretches. Most of all, foam rolling.

The one I bought is here. It does hurt at first, but that gets better over time. Get a really dense foam roller for best results.

Awesome folks! Surprisingly, my local bike and running stores don't have the foam roller so I'm going to try Target.
I'll double check my cleat position as well and see if moving the foot out makes a difference.

I did a 40 mile ride this morning and no issues. Should I use the foam roller even if there was no issue? Just make it part of my regimen?

i would...

me personally, i didn't have issues on every ride, i only really has issues on solo rides and really tough group rides. translation, when i had to work more, i had issues. there were times when i did group rides and it didn't bother me at all, then did a decent paced solo ride a few days later and it was really bothering me before i even hit the 10 mile mark...

on a side note, i did notice that when i was spinning in an easier gear it wasn't as bad, so for me it happened more when i was mashing a tougher gear. hence, it rarely happened on flatter rides, and was most noticeable on hilly rides. i don't know if you're a spinner or a masher, but try spinning in an easier gear and see if that effects it all, i know it did for me...

Also consider lowering the saddle...

Wasn't until I lowered my saddle an entire 3cm and made certain I could pedal backwards with casual shoes on my heels WITHOUT hip sway that suddenly the problem went away.


=8-)