ITBS question

I am 33, 165lbs and have been running about 18 months. I ran my first 1/2 marathon 1/17/04. I had
been doing fine with my training runs. I did a 12 miler the Sunday before the 1/2 with no problems.
The day after the 12 miler, the outside of my left knee was very tender. By Monday afternoon, I was
hobbling around work. After reading up on ITBS, it sounds exactly like that. I didn't run at all
that week. I used a strap on the top of my knee to minimize the friction. It seemed to help. The
first 9 miles of the 1/2 were OK. My knee felt warm, but not a whole lot of pain. Then we hit the
hills. The last 4 miles were bad. I hobbled across the finish line. Stretched a good bit, then drank
away the pain. Now, 10 days later, if I don't wear the strap, my knee is hurting after about an hour
of walking around.

I am concerned about stretching. If I warm up, it irritates the problem. Can I stretch cold muscles?
Do I stop running unitl I feel absolutly no pain, then start back slow? How long is that usually?
Not running is killing me. I do have the commitment to start back with low, slow milage.

Thanks for any help, and/or suggestions you have.

Elvis

 

In article <[email protected]>,
"ElvisIsDead" <[email protected]> wrote:

> I am 33, 165lbs and have been running about 18 months. I ran my first 1/2 marathon 1/17/04. I had
> been doing fine with my training runs. I did a 12 miler the Sunday before the 1/2 with no
> problems. The day after the 12 miler, the outside of my left knee was very tender. By Monday
> afternoon, I was hobbling around work. After reading up on ITBS, it sounds exactly like that. I
> didn't run at all that week. I used a strap on the top of my knee to minimize the friction. It
> seemed to help. The first 9 miles of the 1/2 were OK. My knee felt warm, but not a whole lot of
> pain. Then we hit the hills. The last 4 miles were bad. I hobbled across the finish line.
> Stretched a good bit, then drank away the pain. Now, 10 days later, if I don't wear the strap, my
> knee is hurting after about an hour of walking around.
>
> I am concerned about stretching. If I warm up, it irritates the problem. Can I stretch cold
> muscles? Do I stop running unitl I feel absolutly no pain, then start back slow? How long is that
> usually? Not running is killing me. I do have the commitment to start back with low, slow milage.
>
> Thanks for any help, and/or suggestions you have.
>
> Elvis
>
>

I did physical therapy for ITBS twice, which helped a little. I got orthotics, which didn't help
much. Then I talked to someone at a real running store (not a major chain, but a place where the
people actually know about running). They put me in a stability shoe (Saucony Grid Omni
3) and I've had few problems since. If the shoes get old, I have a little trouble, and I'm a
little sore there after long runs (over, say, 12 miles), but it goes away quickly and doesn't
impact my training.

The other things I'd recommend are running on softer surfaces and having a gait analysis done.

Good luck.

--Harold Buck

"I used to rock and roll all night, and party every day. Then it was every other day. . . ."

- Homer J. Simpson

 

ElvisIsDead <[email protected]> wrote: ....
> I am concerned about stretching. If I warm up, it irritates the problem. Can I stretch cold
> muscles? Do I stop running unitl I feel absolutly no pain, then start back slow? How long is that
> usually? Not running is killing me. I do have the commitment to start back with low, slow milage.

you could try laying off for a week or so. i had problems with my knee last year. (not sure if it
was ITBS, but definitely something wrong.) i stopped running for 7-10 days and then started back
slowly. that seemed to help. by slow, i mean 10-12 min/mile pace when most of my training runs used
to be 7-8 min pace.

in my case, stretching seemed to help. lots and lots of it. if you're worried about stretching cold
muscles, you could try rubbing them with your hands for a few minutes and then massaging them. that
should warm them up a bit. worked for me.

another thing which seemed to help was leg lifts to help strengthen the quads. one of the posters
here, anthony, suggested it to me. you can do it when you are sitting in a chair at work/home...

bottom line: be careful and very very patient. it'll help you in the long run. no one can tell you
when is a good time to start back up. only you can do that. you just have to experiment...

hope this helps. jobs

 

On Tue, 27 Jan 2004 10:35:38 -0600, "ElvisIsDead"
<[email protected]> wrote:

ITBS is one of those things that seem respond to different things in different folks. Main points;

Go see a sports-physio and follow their advice regarding stretches, ice/heat, and rebuilding
your milage.

Don't run using shoes that are 'tired'.

Incorporate off-road running into your training. This will feel uncomforable to begin with, but will
increase the range of motion to which you subject your happy running muscles, as would some gentle
speed work on a grass surface.

Keep the hip/thigh/knee warm in winter. Don't run in cold weather in shorts.