I’m trying to gather a little info in regards to foam rolling before workouts. To anyone who has had IT Band issues, do you foam roll before your runs? I have been foam rolling the pain away after runs with some decent success. I don’t roll the IT Band itself rather the muscles around it. Do any of you roll before runs? I would like to hear your opinions on the matter, preferably people who actually have gone through IT Band problems themselves. I had a Grastons treatment earlier this week, and will have another next week. After that my goal is all out prevention of further inflammation and irritation. I only seem to irritate my IT Band on runs longer than 8-10 miles. No matter what the intensity is. Runs shorter than that I don’t get irritation even in an all out effort. Cheers.
Rolling and warming up before hand is always helpful…I’ve had on-and-off ITB issues for a while, and when it gets bad I heat the area (a heating pad works) and then roll it out before heading out on a run. Mine always seemed to hurt the worst at the start of my runs–once I warmed up it was fine, so this heating/rolling process helped eliminate that.
Good luck!
I just do a dynamic warmup before a run: leg swings, butt kicks, jumping jacks to get loose. I use the foam roller and stretch at night 3x a week, but haven’t tried it before a workout. Don’t think a massage or deep stretching before a workout is a good idea
The problem with foam rolling, Graston, chiropractors, ART, etc for your IT band is that it rarely, if ever, fixes the root problem. Why do you have ITB in the first place? I went through a couple rounds with it, and finally fixed it. Here is a post from the past on the issue (and another). Good luck getting rid of yours; with some patience and diligence to recovery you can beat it forever.
Foam rolling didn’t work for my IT band. I put the SIDE of my leg on something taller (back of a couch, countertop or low wall) then bend over putting my chin to my knee (so the side of my calf goes across my chest). That stretch has been incredible for me and has fixed everything!
Thanks for the advice. You’re right in that I have imbalances in my hips. I was doing some of the exercises listed in that other thread for pain I was having on the bike. Now that those pains have mostly gone away I stopped doing the side steps and clam shells and such. Looks like I should get back into it. I do think the foam roller helps, and Grastons has helped me in the past so I will continue with it. Weather it helps with the IT band I won’t know for a few weeks. Thanks again for the input. The most things I throw at this issue the more likely I am to tame it.
I personally don’t use the foam roller before a workout, but use it extensively afterwards. Also +1 to the active stretches mentioned above. I went through a bad stretch with my IT band last year and have found that a strengthening regimen mixed with the foam roller was effective in eventually knocking out the pain, but I am just now getting back to being able to run semi-regularly.
Edit: Even though my pain has mostly gone away I have continued to do a modified strength routine to try and actively prevent any future IT band issues.
I have had a slight flare-up of my IT band just as I am tapering for a 30k race this this weekend. Doesn’t bother me too much running, but tightens up immediately afterward making walking a little painful. The pain is actually up in my hip vs knee where its flared up before. I’ve been icing it a couple times a day and trying a trick a friend showed me using a small toilet plunger to ‘lift’ the IT band away from the leg and massage along the length of it trying to break up the adhesions etc. Here’s a video that explains it pretty well. Obviously a lot better to have someone else doing the plunging/massaging but I’ve had decent results doing it myself. Enough so that I’ve been able to keep my training volume and still having the twinges and pain diminish more and more each day.
ART definitely fixed my chronic IT Band problem and fixed a huge IT Band blowout of a friend of mine where they went from a full leg braces and crutches to running after a single appointment. Obviously YMMV, but I think a good ART practitioner will be able to help your ITB issue and pinpoint contributing factors.
In addition to exercises to correct the root cause of the problem, my PT recommended rolling before and after I run. I roll, do a dynamic workout, then walk for 5 minutes before running. Then roll/stretch afterwards.
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Pilates almost exclusively focuses on strengthening your core and your hip area. You should try it if you want to gain hip strength.
I recently recovered from a nasty round if ITBS caused by running.
The IT band connects to your hip at two points; the gluteus maximus (GM) and the tensor fascia latae (TFL). Don’t waste your time trying to stretch the IT band itself - it can’t be stretched. Also, the knee pain you feel is nothing more than a symptom for which a TENS unit works wonders!
Two stretches for you to try (hold these stretches for a full 60 seconds each):
Stretch the TFL (specifically the half kneeling hip flexor stretch): http://www.cpcinc-blog.com/…-fixing-your-glutes/
Stretch the GM: http://youtu.be/mlYM3KWwrGY
Go read this for a better understanding of what not to waste your time with, but don’t bother with their stretch either. Stick with the two above.
Thank you everyone. Cmeeks, its interesting the stretch with the leg on the counter is similar to what I do on my foam roller. I cross one leg over my other knee then roll in the glute area. I will add these stretches to my routine. I will look into that TENS unit. My friend is a chiro and I get free treatment in ART and Grastons. He also has a unit that is very robust and I assume does the same thing as the TENS unit. I also use his normatec recovery boots when I have the time. It would be nice to be able to use a unit like that at my leisure.
Hiker is on point. I coach cross country at a girls private school and adopted the head coaches stretching routine myself. Roll, dynamic stretching, ease into the run then stretch and roll afterwards. It has kept me feeling limber when I keep up on it. I also roll my IT band the whole way, laying on my side with the opposite leg crossed as you described or both legs straight out- I do feel that helps me a good bit. Good luck with the roller, it will stop hurting after a few weeks of steady use.
If you really want a good roll, buy a 4"x4’ PVC pipe! Roll those hips/quads/hammies/IT bands on the PVC pipe on a hard floor. Believe you me, you will scream Uncle the first couple of times, but you will feel the IT release.
Thanks for the advice. You’re right in that I have imbalances in my hips. I was doing some of the exercises listed in that other thread for pain I was having on the bike. Now that those pains have mostly gone away I stopped doing the side steps and clam shells and such. Looks like I should get back into it. I do think the foam roller helps, and Grastons has helped me in the past so I will continue with it. Weather it helps with the IT band I won’t know for a few weeks. Thanks again for the input. The most things I throw at this issue the more likely I am to tame it.
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don’t stop the hip strengthening exercises. If you do, expect your IT band to flare-up again.
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do some exercises before your run that activates your gluteus medius and other glutes. Get them firing and active BEFORE your run so they are active during the run.
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IME, foam rolling treats symptoms, not the problem. You need to keep working on your hip imbalances. Foam rolling won’t resolve anything by itself.