Anyone else suffering? Please tell me it will get better, as the pain is awful. I have been on NSAIDS for three weeks and will be seeing my PT this coming Monday. I have no clue as to why this happened. I had an ACL reconstruction in the same leg last September.
An IT Band issue will own you. My husband has been dealing with this for several months. He is currently doing PT and has gotten back to running 4 miles. A lot of stretching and foam rolling. There are certain stretches that he does, but the foam roller has made a huge difference in the areas connected to the IT Band. I will not lie, the foam rolling is very painful. It will tell you just how tight your band is.You may have some scar tissue in the area from your surgery that is causing an issue. This is one of those body parts that takes a long time to work through. Your PT will be great help. Good luck!
The "problems with IT bands " is a very, very large club! The foam rollers and PT will help to Re align the fibers in the IT band and stretch the muscles atound it. If you can feel sore spots and bumps in the side of your leg, well, those are the inflamed IT band fibers. Ice should be your friend, too
best tip from a gifted PT: fill a styrofoam cup with water, freeze it, then peel back the edge and use the ice to massage the sore spots.
Be be careful with long term NSAIDS…can damage your kidneys
Kinesiotape made a massive difference in my IT band issues at the knee.
One thing to consider is that the pain in the IT band is referred pain from your TFL (tensor fascia latae). I’ve been dealing with some sort of weird hip pain that has been misdiagnosed by more than a couple orthopods. I’ve done chiropractic, acupuncture, massage (the combo of the three is best for me), rolfing, foam-rolling; I’ve tried PT, a personal trainer, pilates, rest; I’ve sold saddles that exacerbated the problem. I’ve been misdiagosed as having a couple different issues, but nothing has really solved the problem.
Recently I discovered a chiropractor who does more kinetic therapy stuff, looking the whole chain of pain and other symptoms that I experience. Through various muscle testing, he was able to identify the right spot that is painful - it is the TFL. It is the muscle sort of near where your 5th little jeans pocket would be on the front of the body. It isn’t a big muscle; the IT band is the tendon extending from the TFL and the gluteus maximus. If you are feeling tightness in your IT band, it could be referred pain from the TFL.
Perhaps your body made adjustments to subconsciously protect your knee so the TFL has been overworked or stressed? Have you tried any massage or acupuncture? I find foam rolling to feel good in a self-tortuous pain sort of way, but hasn’t given me lasting relief. I saw my new kinetic chiropractor guy once but he feels within a short time he’ll be able to provide me more relief. I’ve heard that better than foam rolling is using a lacrosse ball for trigger point therapy so I’ve got one on order from Amazon.
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I have had lots of problems post ACL reconstruction and my surgeon keeps blowing me off. Had the surgery early September and rehabbed very quickly according to my surgeon and my PT. I felt good and knee felt strong. The post operative swelling never went away. The surgeon’s office kept saying that it would, but it didn’t and I ended up having fluid drained off as it was restricting my range of motion. The swelling gradually returned. I was also having horrible cramps in my hamstring at the back of the knee.Then in late Dec. resistance therapy exercises started to cause pain in the knee. Rested the knee, iced, backed off the weight and the pain would return when I tried the exercises again.The pain was not in the same place every time. I called the surgeon and explained what was happening. His solution was to throw NSAIDS at me and see the PT again. I had totally stopped the exercises causing pain and had turned to yoga which helped immensely with the pain. Meanwhile,my knee starts tingling . I see the PT finally (takes forever to get in to him) and I tell him the pain has stopped, but now I have this tingling. He doesn’t know what to say and tells me to keep up with the yoga as it seems to be working for me and to call him with a progress report in three weeks. One week later I slipped and fell ( did not land on the side as my problem knee). I immediately took NSAIDS, iced and rested. Five days later the most horrible pain starts; it feels like someone’s driving an icepick into the side of knee. I now have tingling from the knee and up my thigh. I call the surgeon and his office tells me it is not their problem and to see my PCP. :eek: This is where I got IT band diagnosis. I can actually feel pea sized swellings in the painful areas. I have been able to back down the NSAIDS and the only thing that seems to help is rest when any discomfort or pain starts. I start out fairly pain free ( on meds) in the am and the pain will start to override my meds at 2-3 pm. even though I have taken another dose. It is like clockwork. I cannot work a full day at work. I am in horrible discomfort by 5 pm if I try to work all day. Obviously there is also some nerve issue going on, too. I am finally getting into see my PT today. I hope he has some answers.
So sorry you have to go through this. I hope you get some relief.
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Update: I have had two PT sessions and my pain has eased considerably. I am down to one dose of pain meds a day! We are doing various stretching exercises and foam rolling. We just need to find out what caused this. Seeing my PCP tomorrow and pushing for some radiographs of my back.
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You may never know what caused it. My husband’s doctor was baffled about his. He could only offer it may have something to do with scar tissue. He is up to 5 miles with no issue. Still goes to PT too. Sounds like you’re on the right track. Good Luck!
I am not a runner and my PT knows that I vary my workout between hiking, yoga, biking, elliptical, and riding So it really is a mystery as this is usually due to repetitive exercise.
Do you ever use and ice cup for an ice massage? You freeze a Dixie cup filled with water, then peel back the rim to expose the ice and slowly rub it over the IT band. It’s better than an ice pack.
My problem isn’t nearly as acute as yours (more of an ongoing, lower-level chronic issue), but a combo of PT, massage, and stretching has helped me.
According to a PT friend, most Americans have at least a bad right IT band, but Brits typically have problems on the left…has to do with getting into cars and driving. Of course, that’s in addition to the rest of life!
