Have you ever heard someone say that they’re having issues with their IT band and never really knew what it was? Or are you someone experiencing IT band pain and don’t know what the next step for treatment is? Your IT band, or iliotibial band, is a muscle that extends from your hip area all the way down to your knee. The most common symptoms are pain in the hip, knee, or in between the two that worsens with activity. We commonly see this affected in endurance athletes, such as runners or bikers, but more often than ever we are seeing it in people on a day to day basis. Good news, treating IT band syndrome is relatively straight forward.
Causes of IT Band Syndrome
As a generation, we sit for long periods of time. This creates undue stress for your body. Pain usually manifests in the lower back, hips and knees! Don’t get us wrong, sitting and resting is an important part of letting your body heal, but too much rest can affect your body negatively. Whenever you sit for long periods of time, muscles and tissues in your lower body tighten up and causes other muscles to weaken. This creates muscular imbalance and poor biomechanics, which will lead to chronic pain if left untreated. So, how do you go about treating IT band syndrome?
Tips for Treating IT Band Syndrome:
Get up every 15-20 minutes from your desk, whether this be to use the restroom or walk around the office to grab some water
Incorporate core strengthening and hip stability exercises to your workout routine
Stretch out your IT band by rolling on a foam roller. Repeat this repetition about 10 times.
Treating IT band syndrome; Roll/stretch IT band on foam roller
Other Options
Pain associated with IT band syndrome responds well to chiropractic care. In fact, our chiropractors are treating IT band syndrome multiples times daily! Chiropractic manipulation helps with improving poor biomechanics, and soft tissue therapies help decrease pain and tension in the IT band. Muscular strengthening exercises may also be employed, aiming to decrease the overactivity in the muscles causing IT band pain.
Ask yourself: How long have I been dealing with this pain? If you say more than 1 week, this is a cause of concern because muscle memory patterns have already started to develop. We urge you to be proactive rather than reactive with your body! It will thank you as time goes on, if you decide to take care of yourself now.
If you’re ready to get back to feeling pain free, seek out treatment for IT band syndrome in Slippery Rock or New Castle PA.
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