Recover From IT Band Syndrome
Many runners suffer from IT Band Syndrome. The IT Band or Iliotibial Band runs down the side of your leg from the hip to the knee. Due to muscle tightness and weakness, the IT Band tightens leading to pain in the hips, pain in the knee, and spasms in the IT Band. This injury lowers one’s quality of life and causes a minor disability.
Physical Therapy is often needed to overcome this injury. A tight IT Band can arise from many causes and it is the job of our professional Howard Beach physical therapists to discover the cause and treat it. For example, the cause can be a weak butt, tight hip muscles, or foot pain just to name a few.
One of the hardest parts of IT Band syndrome is that it seems to come back over and over again. This is because even though one can strengthen the right muscles, this strengthening needs to be consistent. You can’t just train until your pain stops. You need an extra push which is why an actual physical therapy program is needed to make sure the job is fully done, even after you begin feeling better.
During your initial evaluation, one of our physical therapists at Cross Bay Physical Therapy will examine you, speak with you, and create a customized physical therapy program that you will complete over the coming weeks under the guidance of a physical therapist. Through a combination of hands-on therapy, strengthening exercises, and stretches, you will soon get better and find pain relief.
Here a just a few examples of exercises and stretches that help with IT Band Syndrome:
- Wall-Sits - This exercise has you sit like a chair against the wall and hold yourself up. It strengthens the gluteus maximus or butt muscles as well as your hips. Having strong hip and butt muscles in essential in preventing IT Band Syndrome.
- Leg Lifts - A leg lift strengthens the muscles around your knee helping to protect and support your knee as the IT Band heals.
- Hands-on Massage - We are trained to relieve spasms in the IT Band and can help you ease knots in the IT Band.
It is important to exercise under the direction and guidance of a trained physical therapist in order to make sure that you are not only doing the exercises correctly but also that you don’t injure yourself. We will help you overcome your injury at Cross Bay Physical Therapy.
Call (718) 835-0084 and schedule your initial evaluation.