IT Band injury

  • So, My IT band is not good. Until now, I have been running 15-20 miles a week. Now, I can't run at all! Has anyone ever had an IT band injury? If so, about how long did it take to rectify and what kinds of things did you do? I have no idea how I will live without running, but I know I have to for awhile.
  • You can bike or swim. I assume you're icing, stretching, etc. The best thing I did was something my trainer showed me. I literally lay with my rear on a racquetball and pushed down on various trigger points. Hard to explain, but that combined with the stretches and icing got me going again in a pretty short time.
  • I bought a foam roller to do almost exactly what Sheila is describing. You can google pictures and videos of stretches to do with a foam roller. My IT band is almost completely pain free now, with flare ups only when I run a really fast race. Even then, it's now just slight soreness that goes away within a day.