What is the ITB?

Pain around the outside of the knee joint is one of the most common “overuse” running injuries I see working as a physio. It is usually diagnosed as ITBFS or Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome.

The ITB is a band of fibres or fascia which originates from the gluteus maximus and tensor fasciae latae (TFL) muscles around your hip and pelvis.

The action of the ITB and it’s associated muscles is to extend, abduct and laterally rotate the hip, and also to help stabilise the knee and pelvis when we run.

How / Why does the ITB cause pain?

It is widely thought that ITBFS pain is caused by rubbing or friction between the distal end of the ITB near the knee joint, and the underlying bone.

There are a number of potential factors which contribute to the pain occurring, including:

  • Poor running technique (especially over-striding) – watch THIS VIDEO on running technique to improve your technique
  • Lazy gluteal muscles caused by sitting too much – can you SWITCH YOUR GLUTES ON?
  • Overactive and tight quad muscles – caused by lazy glutes and too much sitting
  • Poor hip and pelvis stability – watch this VIDEO explaining hip and pelvis stability
What can you do to “cure” ITBFS?

The long-term “cure” for ITBFS is to address all the above issues. You should work on improving your running technique, your quad flexibility, and your hip and pelvis stability.

In the short-medium term (whilst you are working on the prevention strategies above) you can use this taping technique the help relieve the symptoms.

Please don’t treat this taping technique as the cure. It is often so effective that it can completely relieve the pain when you run. This is very useful if you are close to your chosen event and you want to try to maintain your training volume, and it is even more useful for race day itself. BUT, if you don’t start addressing the actual cause of the issue, the taping technique will start becoming less effective over time.