Dr. Lee Miller Injury Prevention & Treatment Information for Runners

1. What is it?

The iliotibial band (ITB) is a sheet of fibrous tissue that runs from the outside of the hip, down the outer thigh to the outside of the knee. Functionally, the ITB helps to stabilize the knee joint. During normal movement, as the knee bends and straightens, the ITB rubs over part of the femur. If the rubbing is excessive, injury occurs.

2. What are the causes/predisposing factors of injury?

Any type of misalignment of the feet, knees or hips, leg length differences, high arches and bowed legs can predispose you to this injury. Other contributing factors may include: worn out shoes, running on crowned roads, and excessive increases in mileage and speed work.

3. What are the symptoms?

Sharp pain, felt on the outside portion of the knee that may radiate up the outside of the thigh. Movements such as going up and down stairs, squatting or jogging tend to aggravate the condition. The symptoms of the condition may persist from 2 to 6 months.

4. What can be done to prevent or treat this injury?

Prevention is aimed at reducing the impact of any predisposing factors. For example, people with excessive foot motion should consider motion control shoes. For those who have leg length inequalities, a custom fitted orthodic may be the correct approach. Another preventative step is a program for stretching and strengthening the hip abductor muscles (gluteus medius and tensor fascia lata).

Treatment of ITBS takes on many forms. Decreasing mileage, running on flat terrain, avoiding steep down hills, ice packs, moist hot packs, ultrasound, knee braces and anti-inflammatory medications are used in the treatment regimen.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 1st, 2004 at 7:07 am and is filed under running injuries prevention and treatment(t) , running(t) . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.