So it happened about a week and a half ago,

Ran one day and as I was coming down a hill, I caught a bad pain in the right leg, outside knee. I immediatly knew it was my IT band since I had the same problem on the other leg when I ran track in high school.

The problem now though is, I go back to school in a month, and I'll be participating on the AFROTC team for Army Ranger Challenge, and need to get to running.

Its been a 1.5 weeks since its happened and I still have a slight pain when I'm walking. If I stretch it out/Ice it/pop some NSAID's, it won't bother me for a couple hours, but then it starts back up. I've got an Elliptical that I could use if needed, but I was worried that the extra movement might do more harm than good.

Any tips to help recovery time or should I just try and stay off it till it feels better?

torch-
Not a dr, but I've been fighting this since phase 2 and unfortunately I am getting lateral release surgery on mine in a few weeks. Highly doubtful that yours will come to that point, most resolve much easier...however be diligent in doing the following:
Take some time off running
Ensure you properly warm-up-I recommend the joint mobility "Greg Amundson" warm-up from crossfit after some sort of light cardio
Be sure to stretch at the end of Workouts all major muscle groups for at least :30, especially now stretch your IT band, glutes
Work on strengthening supporting muscles like gluteus medius and TFL (1 leg squats are great for this)
Foam roll/massage may help significantly
Finally if none of this works you may need a cortisone shot, however several weeks and training modification should help-check out core performance, a great book on training, and ensure you are training properly-good shoes, proper running gait (mid-forefoot strike), not running hills to frequently for your body, etc

Keith

i know it's a little late.. but the best prevention for problems like this is weight training. stretching of course is equally important, but squats, leg press, lunges, leg extensions, leg curls, calf exercises. really everything in a complete leg workout strengthens all things in your legs that work to prevent things like that. i'd definately include weight training in your rehab, hitting it twice a week would be really beneficial once you get back to feeling good. however, i really don't know how long you would need to wait on your current injury before jumping into that.

Well problem is now I dont really live close to any gyms per-se to go do some good leg Workouts, but when I was on crossfit i saw some that looked like they didnt need any machines which i'll probably look into.

Thanks for the advice.

I had the same problem and tried all the same things to fix it. What worked for me was NSAIDs, foam roll (3x10) at least once a day and deadlifts and squats. It's best to put some time between the initial injury and weight training.

foam roll.. you just put it on the ground, and then put whatever side of your leg thats hurting on it, and just roll up and down right?

Once I get back to school and actually have a good gym, I'm going to start training again. I think I just started running too hard to soon after taking a break.

yeah thats exactly what happened, the ligaments don't grow as fast as muscle because they have less blood flow. Thats how you do the foam roll, and for me the more it hurts the more i know im doing it right. The first few times will be a bit painful but you will get used to it.

probably going to go buy one tomorrow. tried rolling up a pillow and putting it on the edge of my bed and doing that. Its feeling better since about a couple days ago. Give it a couple more days just to be sure and then get on and go.

I've been fighting this for a year, so just a word of advice after a lot of research and money wasted. About 90% of cases clear up with two weeks of RICE, increased stretching/rolling of ITB and supporting musculature-gluteus medius/tfl/quads, etc. Most doctors don't understand the demands of our training and they will expect you to take months off. If a few weeks don't correct accute symptoms, vigorously pursue other options, more rest will not do much at that point (ITBS not being a trauma, but more a biomechanical issue). Consider physical therapy/a cortisone injection (not more than 1 though). If a few months of PT don't work (most PTs say after 3-4 you need another option)- then you'll need to pursue lateral release surgery-that is the point I am at now.

Damn Keith, sorry to hear that you have to go through the surgery since it's gotten that bad.

Like I said earlier though its actually getting better. I'm going to try the foam thing tomorrow and see how that goes. Right now I can walk around and not feel anything, and I think I'm more mental about not wanting to start running for fear of making it worse. I'll probably just suck it up, foam roll it, take some NSAID's and go for a run and see how I do.

I am sorry to hear everyong has ITB syndrome, I also have ITB syndrome, however I am happy that I can actually contribute to these forums.
I am an athletic trainer, so taking care of this thing is kind of my job. The key to getting rid of ITB syndrome is stretching the ITB, using the foam roll for deep tissue massage, and strengthening the quads, the gluteus medius for hip stability to take stress off the tensor fascia latae (the muscle that pulls on the ITB), and Icing regularly after training sessions.

Good quad and glute med exercise is the single leg squat or pistol squat if you can do it.

LD,

I appreciate you contributing...as this is a common problem with guys that train for SOF...can you give some specifics for treatment (specific stretching recommendation, strengthening exercises, etc.)...many would appreciate it and I'd like to make it a page of it's own.

Here is a quick and dirty overview, I can put together something more comprehensive and complete over the weekend.

The Iliotibial Band (ITB) Friction Syndrome is very common among distance runners due to the function of the ITB. The ITB is basically a long tendon that runs all the way from a tiny muscle at that inserts at the crest of the hip called the tensor fascia latae (TFL), from here the ITB runs down across the hip joint the whole length of the femur and crosses the knee joint, inserting on the tibia in a bony protuberance called Gerdy's Tubercle. The ITB and TFL have a few very important functions which is why it is often subject to repetetive stress injuries. The TFL and ITB abducts the thigh at the hip joint (it pulls your leg out to the side) which is why strengthening the gluteus medius is so important to prevent and treat ITB syndrome. At about 30 degrees of knee flexion (knee bend) the ITB snaps over the lateral femoral condyle, or the side of the knee, and at this point it helps support the knee in extension. With weak quadricep muscles and weak glute medius the ITB is called upon to do more than it's fair share of the work. If the ITB, the lateral structures are also all tight the ITB can become irritated and inflamed from repetetive rubbing.

The keys here are strengthen a few key muscles that tend to be forgotten, the hip abductors; Those machines in gym's where you see people working for buns of steel are good for this, it strengthens the gluteus medius. The hip extensors; strengthening the hamstrings for motion while the knee is relatively extended such as Romanian dead lifts, back extensions in a Roman chair, and hip extensions with a cable column machine or a multi-hip machine. The quadriceps, specifically the vastus medialis oblique (a tiny tear drop shaped muscle that keeps the knee cap tracking correctly) since ITB syndrome and tight lateral structures tends to predispose individuals to patellofemoral pain syndrome. It is best to avoid open chain quad exercises (exercises where your feet are not grounded) so leg press and squats are all very good.

You want to avoid repetetive knee flexion such as biking or running while the ITB is irritated.

Stretching is key to loosen up the ITB. Here is a link that has several stretches for the illiotibial band, these should be done several times a day, including before and after any training sessions. The foam roll also helps a lot.

The last is icing. The best and most effective way to ice the ITB is with an ice cup massage; How to ice massage, Basically you take a paper cup of water, freeze it, rip off the top, and rub the ice on the ITB for abou5 5-7 minutes.

I hope this helps everybody until I can put something better together.

sorry my last post didn't get the stretch hyperlink, so here are the web adresses:
http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/itb_stretch
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-285--11642-0,00.html

And any number of different pictures for them on google images
http://images.google.com/images?q=ITB+Stretches&rls=com.microsoft:*:IE-SearchBox&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=ie7&rlz=1I7ADBF&um=1&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title

so to say the least... I pretty much am indebted to you, now that I know what I need to do.

I've started running more, now that I'm involved with training for my AFROTC team's Ranger Challenge, and my ITB has seemed to get better. It does not irritate me as much, although there is still a small irritation, but nothing bad enough to make me want to stop.

Again, thanks again LD, this was some great information.