Can we use our behinds to ease ITBS pain?

7ships

Barefooters
May 23, 2011
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Madison, WI
I'm reposting this from another thread because I would love to get some technical feedback on my idea. As I was running yesterday I was thinking about posting about this because I've had such struggles with ITBS in the past. The worst was last October in the Chicago marathon where I was reduced to walking at mile 24. I finished running but was tremendously painful. This season I've come up with a method that seems to be working for me so I thought I'd share.

Rationalle

1. Everything I've read says that ITBS pain is caused by either exclusively quadriceps muscles, most specifically vastus lateralis tightness, or a combination of Q tightness and weak glutes which allow the knee to drop inward rather than tracking straight forward during the weight bearing part of the running cycle, or just that the relative weakness in the glutes causes excessive tightening in the VL which puts strain on the ITB.

2. In working on my gait and thinking about form I find that I'm usually focused on shock absorption and knee bending and haven't put much thought into my butt :)

Method

What I've started doing is focusing on my behind while I run. I actively engage my glutes and focus less on my knees/quads. This has two effects. The first is that my legs tend to turn out a bit more than they normally do, so my knee is definitely not dropping in. This makes sense as the glutes are external rotators.

The other is that I push back with my legs more than I have in the past. By slightly tightening my core (abs) I'm able to kick back more effectively and let my legs pull forward more elastically rather than by pulling them forward.

The big thing here is that my IT bands are loosening up. Since starting training this season they have always been a background worry for me, not quite painful yet, but obviously tightening up and reacting badly and to my training. Now they are letting loose. I've only been doing this for a couple of weeks but it seems to be working (fingers are crossed).

Has anyone had a similar experience or have something to add?
 
a P/T spent some time with me recently and concluded that my IT pains (I feel it in the hips and right along the outside of the upper leg, but no knee pain) are to a large degree being caused by my over-tight and under-strengthed adductors. It made sense the way he demonstrated it - the adductors and the abductors/IT Band working against one another, trying to keep the leg balanced.
 
Thanks for the tips. Seems to be helping me some with my knee pain. I know that my left foot is straight when I land and this allows my knee to collapse in. I posted a Knock Knee thread a while a go. I have been letting my left foot flare out a little more and it has reduced the tightness on my IT band.
 
I have similar pain to Willie, and recently bombed out at mile 40 of an ultra (thread Minimal Ultra Training Time).

A sports injury therapist there who I trust has given me some advice based on a couple of simple tests and has concluded that I have short hamstrings and my glutes are firing early rather than letting the hams do the work - see also my thread Short Hammies - Help?.

I think what this shows is that there is no solution as simple as one size fits all, you need to find a therapist that will help you understand your specific issue. My aim is to deal with the underlying cause, not the symptoms.
 
Wanted to mention that I've been doing lunges for a little while now, with an eye to keeping the leg movement linear as possible - I think it's having a positive effect on my hip problem and inward-turning knees.

Btw, here's me at the end of a (tough, mountainous, hot) marathon last year in June:9d62199a-2dc1-4fe1-8c77-6e82ba6b43a0.Large.jpg

(I know it looks like a bloody nipple, but it wasn't - not sure what that is, in fact. Also, I was wiped out here and look 20 years older than I am! I only posted to show the knees)
 
So you're only 70 in real life:D

Glad the lunges are helping
 
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Willie, I rebel against the picture taking at the end of a race. I say do it at the beginning when everyone is fresh and pretty and hasn't yet aged a decade or two, you know?
;)
 
So you're only 70 in real life:D

HA! It's true! I really do look awful in a lot of race pics, my wife never hesitates to tell me so.

Regarding pics when fresh - yeah, why don't they ever have cameras set up 100m after the start, and on the nice level stretches - they're always ambushing us at the tops of long hills and giving us these wonder finish line photos! :p

When I'm fresh and strong, I can keep this stuff under control, I think it wouldn't look anywhere near as extreme as on that pic. Also, not too many years ago, my right foot would have been pointing out to the side, almost horizontally, even on fresh legs. I have worked a lot on my form, and it has paid off, and barefooting has been one of the major elements of the improvments, but when you start with s*** and work your way up to dirt, you still have dirt, lol.

Quad definition... not really, it's just the camera angle and overstressed legs. I got chicken legs for the most part, lol.
 
I can't take the mickey really, post race and mid race photos of me




 
I'm not sure I understand everything that was said, but if you want stronger glutes, run hills and do deadlifts, power cleans, lunges. I never get sore in my quads or knees after a run, just my calves and glutes. Does that mean I'm doing it right?

That's the thing, it depends on what is the cause of your ITBS. In my case it's a secondary issue caused by short hams and glutes firing too early, so strengthening glutes further is not the answer, reinforcing the hams and stretching those to allow them to work fully, is.

I think the thing to take out of this is that ITBS can be caused by a variety of imbalances, you need to work out which one is yours.
 
That's the thing, it depends on what is the cause of your ITBS. In my case it's a secondary issue caused by short hams and glutes firing too early, so strengthening glutes further is not the answer, reinforcing the hams and stretching those to allow them to work fully, is.

I think the thing to take out of this is that ITBS can be caused by a variety of imbalances, you need to work out which one is yours.
Thankfully I haven't yet experienced any typical running injuries, shod or bare, but I have had some trouble with my mets, which is typical of the BFR 'transition'. Now that that has more or less cleared, I'm pushing the running more, and so decided to check out this forum to see what sort of things I should be on the look out for. Since I've always done a fairly complete free weights routine, am flexible, and probably will never top 20-25 miles of running per week, perhaps I can avoid most of these issues. I would really like to be able to run consistently now for the rest of my life.