Having been through my own IT band syndrome issue in the beginning of this year, I was eager to read through the article to see if it matched with my experience. And, it did. The symptoms presented as described in the article. I, being as stupid/stubborn as I normally am, kept running through the pain hoping it would go away. I found that the faster I ran, the better it felt, but it soon got to the point where I couldn't run fast enough to keep the pain at bay. I was totally unaware of the warning signs of IT band syndrome. I guess I did enough damage to lose a good three months while trying to clear up the symptoms and build a program to keep it from happening again.
The first step in my healing process was to get an MRI. Fortunately, with my insurance this was covered 100% with a Dr's order. Great. The MRI indicated severe inflammation of the right IT band. My left one was acting up, too, but the Dr. felt that analysis of the right side would be enough to figure out what was going on with the left.
The next step was to get some physical therapy going with the folks at MedStar Harbor Hospital Sports Medicine. I highly recommend them for rehab and training. I got on a treadmill with video, and when I saw the results, I cringed. I had always wondered why I looked so awkward anytime I saw a photo of myself from a race. Now I knew why. As the PT put it, "You run like a wounded T-Rex." It was awful. My feet crossed over, like running on a tightrope. My arms stayed inside my body, shoulders curled in, and no heel kick. From seeing this, I can say that I think I probably had a combination of Nurse's causes 1, 3, and 4 that contributed to my IT band syndrome.
The rehab focused on three things: 1) strengthening glutes, hip flexors, and quads, 2) flexibility work, and 3) a complete change of running form. Running on the Alter-G definitely helped with #3, but the other two foci were down to the great work of my PTs. They worked out a bunch of strengthening exercises and flexibility stretches to help with everything. Gradually I worked up to where I got out to do 2 mi per day on the road, no more than 10 mi per week. It felt great. Hips underneath, arms swinging at the side, head up, chest out, and my key thought was to give each foot its own lane. Much like cars on the highway.
This article comes at a great time for me. I have been holding steady at just under 40 mi per week, but have wanted to start increasing slowly. This was just the reminder I needed as I start to bump mileage up. No more than 10% per week, of course. I need to especially focus on getting the strength exercises back in my routine because I have let them slip. I also need to keep up with the flexibility, too. I tend to stiffen up more with higher mileage, and it will be a battle to keep everything loose. This injury also reminded me how interconnected all the parts of the body are in running. It's not just about legs. It's arms, abs, lungs, head, ankles, etc... When one gets out of alignment, other things can go south, especially over higher mileage.
That's all. Just wanted to mention a good article to read so that you can stay ahead of IT band syndrome by knowings its symptoms and root causes.
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