self diagnosed ITBS

two words:  foam.roller

Look up some of the ITB stretches, they help loosen up around the hip area.  Also invest in a foam roller or the stick.  They are big helps.  I have found that the tree pose helps to show you where you have muscle imbalances and to strengthen your ankles/lower leg can help a million.

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I had this problem this past summer. I've been using my foam roller 3-4 times a day, icing my knee and doing hip strengthening exercises. Seems to be working for me.

This. 

You can rehab the end result which is ITBS, but if you fail to find the true cause you will be right back where you started. You named a few of he possabilities already. Try to narro it down and ellimnate risk for happenign again. Easier said then done, but I sat out too long with ITBS my first year due to this reasoning. It ended up being bike fit. Everyone's "cause" is different though. Some get help with orthodics, some better bike fit, some train on softer surface, etc.

But foam roller and a bit of hip strengthening does do wonders. Come back VERY slowly. If you start to get aggrevated by how slow you are coming back and feel no pain you are doing it right.

God luck. Good news is that it can be healed with no long term problems.

Stretch, foam roller...good places to start.  Physical therapy if you can swing it.

Don't let it get chronic!  You should immediately back off the mileage to let it rest and then slowly work your way back...

This this. (Not sure how to x2 a "this").

Got ITBS at the end of the season, hurt to bike and run. So I dropped my training hours (stuck to swimming) and rolled and did strengthening exercises. I think someone on here told me that one of the reasons we develop ITBS at all is because our hip and butt muscles are super weak, and if you strengthen them, you're less likely to reinjure our ITB again once you heal up.

So, roll, roll, roll and stretch until it starts to feel better (the time will depend on how bad it is, for me, the second I felt the problem, I stopped running, and started rolling and stretching, so about a week or two). Then slowly bring in running again--keep the runs short. If it starts hurting during a run, stop. Then I started doing these exercises and stretches:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GLrKr54yA0

I'm all healed up again, but I think once you get ITBS, it's sort of always there, so you have to do maintenance on yourself. Keep stretching, make the strength exercises as part of your workout regime. I'm a total foam roller convert. Hurts like a bee-yotch, but it works. I do it about once or twice a week now that I'm better.

Good luck!

Not just foam roller, but if you can get a black foam roller... they are incredible! They never wear down, and every time I use it I can come semi-close to simulating an ART treatment. I love mine! I bought mine from my chiropractor, but just googled it to see what would come up, and you can get a great deal online. It works wonders!

Really should go to a PT for the fastest diagnosis and a faster recovery. They can tell you if it really is ITBS or something else.

Foam roller and ART totally cured my ITBS induced knee pain.  I'd see someone to make sure your diagnosis is right.

As someone said, a PT or ART person may also be able to help diagnose if this is just due to tightness, in which case stretching and the roller may be the end of the story, or if there is some mechanical issue either in running form or biking fit/form which is contributing and will need to be addressed.

And definitely restart slowly.

Edited by wbayek 2010-01-15 4:02 PM

X 1000000000 on the foam roller also streatch and strengthen the glutes and hip flexors... so I hear

seems to be working ok so far