How Often Should You Roll the IT Band?
Outdoor runners and indoor cycling enthusiasts may have experienced major tenderness or pain along the IT band, which is a long sheathe of fascia that stretches along your outer thigh. It extends from the upper lateral part of the femur to the lateral knee. Foam rolling on the IT band is often recommended by fitness and rehab professionals to alleviate the pain. Even though foam rolling gives some relief, you may not need to roll the IT band often.
Foam rolling your leg is like giving yourself a deep tissue massage. It desensitizes the nerves and increases blood flow to the tissues, which allows more elasticity and delivery of oxygen and nutrients. To roll your IT band, lie on a foam roller on your upper right thigh and prop your body up with your hands. Cross your left leg over your right leg and place your left foot on the floor. Take several deep breaths before you carefully roll down toward your knee. This can be very painful for most people. Roll two to three times a day. Once you get used to the tenderness, roll two to three times a week for maintenance.
Not Always Necessary
Oftentimes, you don't need to foam roll your IT band because the tenderness or pain may stem from the hip joint rather than from the IT band and knee. Mainstream belief says that IT band syndrome is pain caused by rubbing of the IT band against the lateral epicondyle of the femur. The constant friction causes inflammation of the IT band or bursa in the knee. In a study published in 2006 in the "Journal of Anatomy" that is based on 15 human cadaver dissections and magnetic resonance scans of the IT band in six living subjects, IT band syndrome is most likely to be caused by compression of the fat tissues that lie beneath the IT band rather than the constant friction of the knee extension and flexion. Therefore, foam rolling along the IT band yields little or no long-term solution for IT band syndrome.
Alternative to Rolling
Foam rolling isn't always the solution to alleviate tissue tenderness and knee pain along the IT band. In 2005 at Stanford University School of Medicine, researchers stated that IT band pain is caused by weakness in the lateral gluteal muscles. When these muscles get weak, they don't move and stabilize the pelvis well, which causes other muscles in the leg and torso to compensate the glutes' weakness. Therefore, strength exercises for the hips should emphasize eccentric muscle contractions, movement in different planes of motion and integrated movement patterns, which means to incorporate full-body movements rather than isolating the hips. Sample exercises include single-leg hip bridges, body-weight squats, single-leg deadlifts and stepups.
Try These Exercises!
Foam rolling should be avoided if you have unhealed wounds, bone fractures, skin cancer, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, any strains or sprains or high blood pressure. Consult with your physician if you have any of these symptoms before you attempt to use a foam roller.
- Runner's World: The (Almost) Magical Foam Roller
- Journal of Science and Medicine in Sports: Is Iliotibial Band Syndrome Really a Friction Syndrome?
- Journal of Anatomy: The Functional Anatomy of the Iliotibial Band During Flexion and Extension of the Knee
- PhysioAdvisor.com: Iliotibial Band Syndrome
- Sports Medicine: Iliotibial Band Syndrome in Runners: Innovations in Treatment.
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