Illiotibial injury

[patrick666]

Hello, has anybody else ever pulled their illiotibial muscle in their calf? I did that when I was in the cross country team@college and find my left side (injured side) needs a bit more stretching but I don't think I'm doing the right ones... Any suggestions?

Cheers

 

[Infanteer101]

Patrick H, I believe you are referring to ITB Syndrome or Illotibial Band Syndrome and I had the same thing when I ran my 3rd half marathon. Best thing for that is to head in to physio as they can get you squared away within 4-6 weeks and you'll be as good as new. If you have a plastic or rubber roller (which you can pick up at Canadian Tire or Home Depo) you will be more equipped...essentially you should do a search on google and there should be a link to the proper exercises. Believe me I tried doing it on my own for a month to no end and then I was orderd to head to physio because if you don't get it treated properly you might screw up your lower body mechanics and perhaps even damage your meniscus. The roler goes underneath the leg (halfway between your hip and knee) and you shift your weight on it and roll back and forth for 5 mins holding your weight and gently rolling back and forth is best. You do this three times a day usually an hour apart to start with and as you see progress you start increasing it by one more set and lasting between 8-10 minutes. After about 4 weeks your condition should improve but don't start running yet, keep doing it for 2 more weeks and then get back on the track and start training slowly (between 1-2 km a week at a steady jogging pace, don't go all nuts and start sprinting right away). You should be able to progress an additional 0.5-1 km each week and pretty soon you'll be givin' 'er again. There are a couple of good sides for it http://www.emedicine.com/sports/topic53.htm and an even better one http://www.runningtimes.com/issues/04may/itb.htm Lemme know how it turns out for ya! Cheers! Do however try and consult a physiotherapist for it just to be safe.

 

[Fundy Gunner]

I'd like to add my two cents to this topic from my previous experience and continuing nagging problem.

The cause of my I.T. ban problem was running while on exercise.  Eventhough I have good combat boots (Magnum), issued to me because the boots they issue to everyone else are worse things ever and caused other problems, I still had problems.  Let's just say the pain was excruciating and I had to go to physio to get a little help to fix the problem.  They did a few things and recommended a few other things.

When I went to physio, I had to do quite a bit of stretching to ease the pain but to reduce the constant swelling besides icing and heating it I also had two probes that vibrated at a very high rate.  (I forget what it was called.)  There was also quite a bit of massaging.  Last but not least the last thing that was done was acupuncture.  Let's just say I was in quite a bit of pain and I was willing to try anything and everything.  It took a few week painful weeks to recover but in the end things did get better but I've been diagnosed with this problem as being chronic. 

So, how does one cope with a chronic problem like this.  Well this is what was recommended.

First off change your footwear - I know it's expensive but over time buy stuff that suits your foot and not for fashion.  There are special running shoes to prevent this problem.
Second for your combat/work boots get proper insoles for the special support need.  Talk to a foot specialist they'll know the best insoles for your problem.  You may have to get orthos.
The stretching exercises from the link that INFANTEER101 put on his post are the ones I did and they seemed to work.
Lastly, if you live in an area that has a massage therapy school you can normally get a good massage at a fraction of the price of a professional and get the same results.  I good massage on the problematic area is a good way to ease the pain.

I'm not a doctor or medical professional so this only from my experience but hopefully it will give you some more info to ask the questions you need answered to not let this problem happen again.

 

[buzgo]

I agree 100% with Infanteer101's physio advice. I encountered ITBS in the last few months and tried to treat it myself, but wasn't getting anywhere. I went from running 50 km per week to not being able to run (but I could ROW 50 km per week! hehe) I went to physio, had my foot biomechanics checked out and was shown all of the exercises to stretch and strengthen the supporting muscles. I also changed from a light stability runner to a neutral, cushioning shoe and it has made a huge difference. 2 weeks ago I couldn't run 1 km without experiencing excruciating pain. Now I can run 5 or 6 km and I only have a bit of discomfort that goes away with stretching and Ibuprofen. This is lessening as well.

 

[Old Ranger]

Since you just got lots of good advice,
Here's the Sarcastic;
Join an Armoured Unit and don't Dismount ;D

 

[patrick666]

Thanks for the great advice... This happen a while ago and I did get to physio after the injury but all they only did the electronic massaging or whatever it is, not a great of stretching in the clinic though I was given a sheet with diagrams of about 8 stretches to do independantly ... I can run a 5km or so but it usually gets a little sore afterwards.. I will give your stretches a go, infanteer, and thank you fro that.. I did pick up a new pair of running shoes recently from the running room.. the woman had me run up and down the store in different pairs to see what best supported the injured side and I came out with a good deal so I'll give them a go but will begin stretching exercises firstly..

Does it go away completely or become sort of a malignant chronic pain ?

Thanks again

Cheers

 

[Infanteer101]

It really depends on how you treat it and varies from person to person. As an infanteer for me it was hard to stay away from the physical stuff for a while but the recovery afterward was worth the wait. Cheers!

 

[Springroll]

Along with the good suggestions  made here, I would also suggest taking an anti inflammatory when the pain is really bad(anything above a 6 on the pain scale). Common names being Advil or Motrin.

Here is a link to information about anti inflammatories.
http://www.medicinenet.com/ibuprofen/article.htm

Also make sure you consult with your doctor because you may have an underlying condition that may not do well with the taking of anti inflammatories.