I.T. band and knee irritation?/ Dr D.. Anyone

[Bobby Buggs]

Well Im out for this weekend because my left/front knee is all fired up. Yeah I had 4 scopes on it during the 90s but its not really been an issue during my Alpine years. Well after the Shred Metal attack on Saturday my knee has really been barking at me. Stopped and saw a PT friend and he was shaking his head at me saying your SO Tight and this IT band is causing major irritation to your knee cap, you need to stretch it out.

Now I ride with a slight toe lift n that foot and when I bend my leg as far as it will currently let me go and then raise my toe it does fire up that knee. Ideas??

Yeah I know.... dont bend and lift the toe:nono:

[carvedog]

BB

I just had a chiro adjustment yesterday and I am certainly no expert and I have never stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, but I can't believe how much of my knee ( and hip ) problems were/are caused by my back.

If I was further north I would be seeing Dr D, but my local guy seems to be getting it done. He had to fix some stuff up high ( stupid photocopier anyway) and now we are getting the hip and knee fixed.

And it is working.

My carve schedule has been impacted a bit this winter, but when conditions are good I have been able to get out.

Don't know what the issues are for you, but when you mentioned that toe raise thing that sounds familiar to me

Good luck ( or good PT ) hope you get it figured out.

[ShortcutToMoncton]

You can do IT-band stretching exercises on a regular (daily) basis as well which will certainly help. (I had to go to a sports physiotherapist a few years back because of knee problems while walking or going up steps, and I was fearing the worst... and that was the surprising diagnosis as well.)

I don't recommend a chiropractor. No knock against any that might be around here, but I believe a physiotherapist is the best long-term solution.

She told me that the basis stretch to do was as follows:

1. Lie on back, legs bent comfortable towards you (like this o_/\ )

2. Put one leg over the other, keeping both bent (i.e. put your ankle over the other knee, making a sort of "figure four"... but don't go as far as your knee, which would be the traditional "crossed legs" motion)

3. Gently pull the leg towards yourself without straining (the leg that's still on the floor... which now has the other leg's ankle resting comfortably behind the knee)

4. Repeat with other leg, etc. etc. You'll notice yourself able to stretch it further as you keep doing this of course.

I hope you can figure out what I'm trying to say here, but I'm sure you can find pictures of this on the internet. It's really easy though! In fact at first I had my doubts whether it was actually being effective because it didn't seem to be "stretching" anything, but after a couple weeks I didn't have any more problems.

greg

[arneburner]

I have the same problem with my front (right) knee. I believe that part of the problem is the weight of the board pulling the knee outward while riding the chairlift. Where I ride, there are no foot rests. To counteract the weight of the board pulling on my knee, I attached a strap to my rear heel bail. I can level the board by pulling on the strap and wraping it around my back knee.

I rode for 6 1/2 hours on Monday and have had to lay off the rest of the week, but of course I didn't take the time to hook up the strap. It does seem to help when I use it. I also have been using a foam roller and direct pressure to try to loosen up the I.T. band. Ice and naprosyn also help.

Regards,

Arne

[Seraph]

2 words...foam roller.

[Steve Prokopiw]

'electrostimulus accupuncture'.This was miraculous for me when I had i.t. band problems severe enough to make me consider quitting bike racing.

[philfell]

I second the foam roller. They are between 20-30 bucks online, a little more at local fitness retailers. Purchase the hardest one you can find. It may be a little much in the beginning but after a few weeks you'll like a firmer one more than a softer one.

If you are in a pinch and want to start working it out today find any cylander object that will support your body weight, like a nalgene, or a colman camping small propane tank, ect. Put that on the ground lay sideways on top of it roll on top of it starting at the hip and roll down to you knee. Go back and forth along the entire length of you theigh about ten or more times. It WILL hurt ALOT, but after a week it will feel less painfull. You may need to support yourself a bit by placing your top leg on the flood to take some weight off the leg you are rolling.

I know I've mentioned this site a few times before, but honestly it is the best site I've found for conditioning for our sport. Check out these four links.

http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/training/foam-roll.html

http://www.coreperformance.com/daily/recovery/q-a-tight-it-band.html

http://www.coreperformance.com/daily/recovery/q-a-why-does-it-hurt-to-foam-roll.html

http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/movements/foam-roll-it-band.html

[ursle]

http://www.herbspro.com/72939/PEAKPERFORMANCEGEL.htm

and everything philfell reccomends

[Loc]

I'll third the foam roller suggestion. My IT band doesn't tighten up from riding but in the summer when I'm hiking it gets pretty bad. The foam roller and IT band stretches fixed it real good.