Raise your hand if you’re a runner or cyclist who has spent a significant amount of time foam rolling your IT band because the internet told you to🙋♀️🙋♀️🙋♀️.
Not only is this time consuming and painful, but it is also often ineffective.
IT band pain is a common complaint in endurance athletes, and if you think about why this may be, it makes a lot of sense! Both running and cycling are very sagittal-plane sports. This means you are only moving straight forward, and often for a significant amount of time and intensity.
Where the issue comes in is that our muscles are meant to be used and strengthened multi-directionally. Endurance athletes often have strength imbalances in their lower extremities due to the repetitive nature of their sport. These imbalances can lead to various injuries such as IT band syndrome.
Contrary to popular belief, your IT band is actually supposed to be a tight band of tissue. This is how it provides stability to your leg and knee joint!
If you are a runner or cyclist who is experiencing lateral leg or knee pain, this may be your very problem. In this video below, we go through a progression of exercises to strengthen the right parts of your leg to help IT Band pain.
Here at Mission Move physical therapy, we are athletes ourselves who understand the importance of training and remaining active in the ways you want.
Are you an active adult or athlete living in Roswell, Johns Creek, or Alpharetta, and experiencing some IT band pain or other issue that is holding you back? Since 2008 our proven 3 step plan has helped people stay in the game and keep doing all the awesome activities they love. Please give us a call or text at 678-400-0300.
