IT Bands

I've had the same problem and the best stretch I've found is kind of hard for me to explain without showing you, but I'll give it a shot.

To stretch your left IT band:
1. Stand up and cross your right leg over your left.
2. Lean to your right while pushing your hip to the left.

It may take a little trial and error but you should feel the stretch right along the outside of your knee and even up the side of your thigh a bit... at least that's how it seems to work for me. I usually do this right after a run. I've been told that you really need to stretch the IT bands when they're warm and do it frequently. Because you're stretching tendons, not muscles, you'll need to be patient. After I did the Chicago Marathon in October, it took several weeks to really stretch and heal them. Once they feel better, keep on stretch'n them to prevent any future problems.

Here is a site with some good stretches. www.smiweb.org/guides

Mike

IT band syndrome - nearly ruined my college track career, the "hollywood" strecth help me a lot, sit on the floor, legs straight our in front of you - take your rt foot, bend your rt knee and place rt foot over the left knee, ,, then left elbow on the rgt side of rgt knee, twist your trunk around and look over your rgt shldr, - some cal thisa pretzel, I lke hollywood 'cause if you put your hand under your chin its like an old Holywood glamour shot

In most cases, IT band pain/stiffness is caused by a pelvic tilt, which causes your hamstrings and IT band to lengthen. When your quads become overworkded, they cause the hip flexors and TFL to pull down on your psoas.  The psoas is attaached from your pelvis to your spine.  So you can see what happens when your hips and quads become tight, they force your pelvis to tilt, and this is what causes all sorts of problems including low back pain.  In order to rid yourself of these problems, you must correct this biomechanic problem.  This is actually very easy to do with the tp maassge ball and quadballer. Go to www.tpmassageball.com.  Stretching is ok, but it will only workon the head and tail of the muscle.  Your problem lies deep in the belly of the muscle. Stretching willl not get into the belly of the muscle.  The tp massage ball products are designed to get to the problem, not just treat the symptoms.   I am not a doctor, but I am a rep for this company,and have treated many runners and triathletes who suffer from many common overuse injuries.  Feel free to email me [email protected]     Bryan

Edited by TRIBMAC 2005-05-02 3:05 PM




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IT BAND BIOMECHNICS.htm (18KB - 12 downloads)
IT BAND TREAT THE PROBLEM NOT SYMPTOMS.htm (25KB - 22 downloads)
DO I HAVE IT BAND SYDROME.htm (18KB - 15 downloads)