Illiotibital Band Syndrome
By
Chris Graff
of
Trackcoach.com
Many runners experience soreness and tightness on the outside of
their thighs and quadriceps, but are unaware of what is actually
going on in their body. The soreness they feel is not in their
muscles at all, but actually in a tissue called the Illiotibital
Band (ITB). The leg muscles are surrounded by a thin soft tissue
called a fascia. Toward the outside of the leg, this tissue becomes
very thick and forms a band which runs from your knee to your hip.
At the lower end it is connected to your tibia, while on top it is
connected to your gluteus maximus and tensor fascia lata (front and
rear hip muscles).
The pain associated with ITB syndrome are caused mostly by the
wear and tear of extended amounts of running. Most commonly pain is
felt towards the middle or end of a run when the band has already
endured some stress. The outside of the knee is where the most
irritation is usually felt because the band is rubbing against the
lower end of your femur (thigh bone). General aching in the outside
portions of the legs and *dead legs* at the end of runs are also
signs that you might have an ITB problem.
The cause of ITB syndrome, other than simple overuse, is often an
imbalance either in the runner or the running surface. If you are
constantly running on a track and leaning into the turns, one leg
endures more stress than the other, which causes problems in the
ITB. The same leaning can be generated by running on a crowned road,
where one foot lands slightly higher up on the crown than the other.
This forces your legs to act as if the are different lengths, adding
extra stress to your body.
