I have been absent lately,
I have been absent lately, and thought I really should check in.
Regarding a couple of the recent questions:
*Yes, sprinting has helped me too, and I've read that running faster is good for ITBS.
*I actually just ordered one of those bands yesterday--it'll be here tomorrow. I'd blogged about my ITBS, and someone commented, letting me know that he was using one and felt it was really helping. It has great reviews...definitely seems worth trying.
Okay, an update on me.
A few months ago, I blogged about how proud I was that I'd done a 14-miler and found a way to keep running despite some tightness. Please, please, please, DON'T follow my advice.
I pushed way too hard, and after that run, my ITBS was noticeably worse.
To make a long story short, I got so frustrated, and decided to switch to walking. I've been walking instead of running for 7 weeks now. I can still tell things are not where they should be in my ITB area. I could go back to my physical therapist, and I think that would help, but for now, walking feels like the right thing.
I think my ITB/surrounding tissues will heal in time, and honestly, the slower pace has been good for my body AND spirit. I've grown to appreciate the peace of walking (I like to pray as I walk), and I plan to continue to incorporate some nice walks (30 minutes maybe), even when I get back to running. Maybe I'll just walk for half an hour and then do my normal run. And actually, once school starts, I'll have a lot of time walking my new kindergartener to and from school, so that may itself fulfill my new need for the peace of walking!
I'm still rolling (pretty much daily) and doing the exercises my PT prescribed (a couple of times a week.) I'd also been doing some cool whole-body strengthening exercises I found, but there was a lot of squatting involved, and honestly, I feel like all that squatting may have bothered my IT band. (A fellow "sufferer" mentioned this to me awhile back.) So I'm not doing squats anymore, in case that makes a difference.... I'm switching to other strengthening exercises instead.
I'm really hoping the little compression band helps. And I'm hoping and expecting that time and patience will help me get over this...then I will probably EASE back into running, listening to my body better than I did before!