Illiotibial band stretch

Bigcheeze

Does anyone know what stretching works best for the illiotibial band ?


Also, I hate doing stretches before running but I normally force myself to do a couple. What are the most important stretches to do before and after running ?

gavtron

a nice bit of foam rolling usually does a good job for me! some good videos on youtube

edit: i don't think you should be stretching while cold before running, some foam rolling can be used and incorporated into some dynamic stretching for a warm up

d'Oracle

The IT band isn't a muscle.
You don't really stretch it.

You stretch the outside of the hip, the hamstrings and the quads which if I'm not mistaken are the groups of muscles attached to the IT band.

I'll post this cos it helped me with some knee pain I was having:

http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/2010/10/episode-61-it-band-hell-and-help.html

That said anytime I have any sort of outside of my knee pain, I foam roll down the ITB and do the pigeon stretch or the stretch he does in this vid. Usually I feel like a new chap. Might be different for runners.

Bigcheeze

Cool thanks. Are foam rolls widely available ? e.g. Lifestyle ?

d'Oracle

Bigcheeze wrote: »

Cool thanks. Are foam rolls widely available ? e.g. Lifestyle ?

physioneeds.biz

There are tonnes of threads around about them and their alternatives.

If you are really fond of pain you can use a bit of wavin pipe.

Khannie

Had IT band trouble myself before. Stretching is naff compared to the foam roller. Couldn't believe the difference it made to me.

Transform

tight IT band its usually linked to poor hip mobility and tight glutes so look there also

Einstein

gavtron wrote: »

edit: i don't think you should be stretching while cold before running, some foam rolling can be used and incorporated into some dynamic stretching for a warm up

+1

Stretching is only beneficial if your body temperature is up a degree or two and the muscles are more pliable.

Stretching at 6:30am in the current -1 type outside temperatures before you run is asking for trouble.

Barry.Oglesby

Lots of poor stuff in here. Lots. This could read like fitness myths 101.

The ITB is as stretchable and pliable as any other bit of connective tissue in the human body. Foam rolling it is a good idea but stretching is too. There's also nothing wrong with stretching the ITB before running statically or otherwise. In fact, if I don't do that then I'm likely to suffer knee pain in my right leg. The foam roller is painful but I don't know a runner who doesn't think of it as a miracle cure for knee pain.

OP it depends on your make up but personally, I mobilise my thoracic spine, stretch my ITBs, calves and do some glute activation before I run.

mushykeogh

Einstein wrote: »

+1

Stretching is only beneficial if your body temperature is up a degree or two and the muscles are more pliable.

Stretching at 6:30am in the current -1 type outside temperatures before you run is asking for trouble.

Unless you have a fever your not going to raise your muscle temp by 1 or 2 degrees.
Lots of research at the moment on stretching while cold and its change on muscle length but thats for another day.

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Lots of poor stuff in here. Lots. This could read like fitness myths 101.

The ITB is as stretchable and pliable as any other bit of connective tissue in the human body. Foam rolling it is a good idea but stretching is too. There's also nothing wrong with stretching the ITB before running statically or otherwise. In fact, if I don't do that then I'm likely to suffer knee pain in my right leg. The foam roller is painful but I don't know a runner who doesn't think of it as a miracle cure for knee pain.

OP it depends on your make up but personally, I mobilise my thoracic spine, stretch my ITBs, calves and do some glute activation before I run.

Three cheers for all the above, dynamic warm up all well and good, but if your suffering with a particularly tight muscle, you have to stretch it before you run.

Barry.Oglesby

mushykeogh wrote: »

Unless you have a fever your not going to raise your muscle temp by 1 or 2 degrees.
Lots of research at the moment on stretching while cold and its change on muscle length but thats for another day.

+1. It takes about 20 minutes to raise gastro intestinal temperature by 2 degrees via running. There's no extreme change in temperature on the extremities during this time. If there was, that would probably correspond to an extreme change in GI temperature which would be a serious health issue.

The whole "warm up" is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in exercise.

Brian?

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Lots of poor stuff in here. Lots. This could read like fitness myths 101.

The ITB is as stretchable and pliable as any other bit of connective tissue in the human body. Foam rolling it is a good idea but stretching is too. There's also nothing wrong with stretching the ITB before running statically or otherwise. In fact, if I don't do that then I'm likely to suffer knee pain in my right leg. The foam roller is painful but I don't know a runner who doesn't think of it as a miracle cure for knee pain.

OP it depends on your make up but personally, I mobilise my thoracic spine, stretch my ITBs, calves and do some glute activation before I run.

What's the most effective way to stretch you ITBs? I foam roll the bejaysus out of them, which has seriously reduced my knee pain but can't seem to find a way of actually feeling a decent stretch in them

Barry.Oglesby

briankeating wrote: »

What's the most effective way to stretch you ITBs? I foam roll the bejaysus out of them, which has seriously reduced my knee pain but can't seem to find a way of actually feeling a decent stretch in them

There are a few stretches, both solo and partner, a quick google should give you a few ideas. Do them in conjunction with some hip mobility stuff and foam rolling.

I see guys rolling their ITB like they're on a skateboard, and there are lots of youtube crappy vids floating around of guys who don't know what they're doing milling around on foam rollers for seemingly the fun of it. The correct way to do it is take it in stages of 1-2inches and put as much pressure as pain will allow for those 2 inches. Work your way down the leg and then start again. With this stuff, little and often is better than doing one giant session and killing yourself. I have a video but I don't think I can post it up.

Khannie

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

The correct way to do it is take it in stages of 1-2inches and put as much pressure as pain will allow for those 2 inches. Work your way down the leg and then start again.

Interesting. I was doing the skateboard type method and having good results with it (significantly better than stretches that a physio had shown me). I got it from a youtube video. I'll try your way though in general I find rolling less painful these days. I think I'm over the initial hump.

Transform

Khannie wrote: »

Interesting. I was doing the skateboard type method and having good results with it (significantly better than stretches that a physio had shown me). I got it from a youtube video. I'll try your way though in general I find rolling less painful these days. I think I'm over the initial hump.

i find with any foam rolling a general roll all around is good to identify specific areas i can then target e.g. rolling up and down the legs and then stopping on specific points that are tight. The Physical therapist (ART guy) i work with suggested this as he saw it as the similar with hands on work i.e. work in general first and then on specific points or adhesions.

Einstein

mushykeogh wrote: »

Unless you have a fever your not going to raise your muscle temp by 1 or 2 degrees.

You obviously ain't done a 2 hour stint in a BJJ dojo

Lots of research at the moment on stretching while cold and its change on muscle length but thats for another day.

Stretching a cold muscle can strain and irritate the tissue. Warm up first. Walk before you jog, jog before you run, etc. It's most beneficial to stretch after you exercise, when the muscle is heated by blood flow and is more accommodating of a stretch.

There's ALWAYS been research on stretching while cold, and there always will be, and it will always be ongoing, and there will always be debates about it.

I've never stretched while cold. And I've never been injured.

Brian?

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

There are a few stretches, both solo and partner, a quick google should give you a few ideas. Do them in conjunction with some hip mobility stuff and foam rolling.

I see guys rolling their ITB like they're on a skateboard, and there are lots of youtube crappy vids floating around of guys who don't know what they're doing milling around on foam rollers for seemingly the fun of it. The correct way to do it is take it in stages of 1-2inches and put as much pressure as pain will allow for those 2 inches. Work your way down the leg and then start again. With this stuff, little and often is better than doing one giant session and killing yourself. I have a video but I don't think I can post it up.

Cheers horse. That's pretty much what I'm doing when foam rolling alright, it's helped a huge amount.

The problem with googling these things is, as you say, there is a lot of ****e out there.

If you have a video on hip mobility work I'd love to see it, any chance of sending on a link.

Cheers.

Barry.Oglesby

Einstein wrote: »

I've never stretched while cold. And I've never been injured.

I've never done any windsurfing, and I've never once got Bell's Palsy.

mushykeogh

When your muscles are cold,your dead.

discus

Barry.Oglesby wrote:

I see guys rolling their ITB like they're on a skateboard

You're referring to me, I just know it.

Einstein

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

I've never done any windsurfing, and I've never once got Bell's Palsy.

em.ok. Thanks for that.

Point is I do exercise, without stretching, and dont get injured...

mushykeogh wrote: »

When your muscles are cold,your dead.

Good one. I'll tell that to my next client. Will explain everything.

d'Oracle

Einstein wrote: »

em.ok. Thanks for that.

Point is I do exercise, without stretching, and dont get injured...

The point he is making is that you are applying reductive logic.
i.e. You do exercise.
You do not stretch cold.
You didn't get injured.

These are coincidence but not coindicative.

There is no reason to believe that if you started stretching cold you would start to get injured.

Stretching muscles Cold is natural, people actually do it instinctively.
Its sounds absurd to say it causes injury.

Almost as absurd as saying one can stretch a thick band of collagen fibres with yield tensile strength far in excess of its attaching muscles....

Barry.Oglesby

d'Oracle wrote: »

Almost as absurd as saying one can stretch a thick band of collagen fibres with yield tensile strength far in excess of its attaching muscles....

Well it would seem that sometimes, even the absurd is true. Collagen is flexible. If it wasn't, it would be called "bone".

You made an absolute statement "your ITB can't be stretched". It can. It's difficult, but it can. That's why massage + stretching gives the best result.

Einstein

d'Oracle wrote: »

The point he is making is that you are applying reductive logic.
i.e. You do exercise.
You do not stretch cold.
You didn't get injured.

These are coincidence but not coindicative.

There is no reason to believe that if you started stretching cold you would start to get injured.

There is also no reason to believe that if you don't stretch at all you would get injured.

Stretching muscles Cold is natural, people actually do it instinctively.
Its sounds absurd to say it causes injury.

Almost as absurd as hearing someone say in response to someone who just injured themselves "Oh, did you not stretch beforehand?"

There is no solid evidence that supports stretching being of any benefit before-exercise...

cc87

Einstein wrote: »

There is also no reason to believe that if you don't stretch at all you would get injured.

Isnt that similar to saying there is no reason to believe that if you smoke you will get heart disease, cancer etc.

Just because it you havent been injured yet isnt a good reason not to stretch and improve your overall flexibility and mobility.

Antisocialiser

briankeating wrote: »

If you have a video on hip mobility work I'd love to see it, any chance of sending on a link.

+1

Barry.Oglesby

Would like to guys but sorry we've made a decision on intellectual property after some of it started appearing uncredited elsewhere.

theboxingclinic

if your wondering what you need to stretch prior to running, you need to stretch what is short and tight. in most people this is gastro soleus, posterior tib, quads, hip flexors and lateral hams.
stretching cold is fine for some muscles and not for others. hamstrings and adductors generally do not react well to being stretched cold, long weak muscles, usually with old tears and micro tears within these muscles. you will aggravate these muscles stretching cold.
on the it band question, stretching this "muscle" depends on the person and that persons hip complex. personally im all for stretching it if it is an issue but due to its fibres being very close knit its blood supply will not be great so it is best stretched warm, or after a little bit of foam rolling. stretching it will benefit you and yes it can be stretched very effectively

Brian?

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Would like to guys but sorry we've made a decision on intellectual property after some of it started appearing uncredited elsewhere.

No worries Barry.

I wish I had some intellectual property to protect, but even the wife won't listen to my ideas.

Einstein

cc87 wrote: »

Isnt that similar to saying there is no reason to believe that if you smoke you will get heart disease, cancer etc.
No, since smoking has been proven to contribute to these illnesses.

Just because it you havent been injured yet isnt a good reason not to stretch and improve your overall flexibility and mobility.

Oh I deffo do stretch, but moreso at the end of a workout or session! I'm talkin in general before a session when I'm cold is all!

Bigcheeze

So I got the foam roller and it hurts like hell to use when I have all my weight on it. I've been using it on outside of my upper leg and thighs. Does it have any other uses ?

Barry.Oglesby

Yes. Mid back, upper back, calves, lats, glutes.

SanoVitae

Bigcheeze wrote: »

Does it have any other uses ?

I hear it makes a great draft excluder...;)

Brian?

Bigcheeze wrote: »

So I got the foam roller and it hurts like hell to use when I have all my weight on it. I've been using it on outside of my upper leg and thighs. Does it have any other uses ?

Anywhere you have a muscle.

Barry.Oglesby

briankeating wrote: »

Anywhere you have a muscle.

Nope

Brian?

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Nope

Where wouldn't you use it?

The lower back? Can't think of anywhere else.

bryanbal

briankeating wrote: »

Where wouldn't you use it?

The lower back? Can't think of anywhere else.

I have started to foam roll the groins and now have a bit of a niggle. Could they be linked or is it ok to foam roll the groins?

David Jones

Have foam roller, but prefer a tennis ball or graduate to a hockey ball for ITB work. Pain yes, but kind of nice pain like wiggling a loose tooth when you were a kid.

deltaromeo82

Does anyone know where I'd get the foam roller itself. Its not something I've seen in ordinary sports shops.

deadlybuzzman

generally I pvc roll seperately from training but tried it lately as part of a warm up-seemed grand but just wondered as it was really sore(not been rolling as much as I should be lately and at 1 stage I could feel my heart pounding) could that impede the transmission of nerve signals to muscles?