ITBS and physio

Had my first visit to a physio today with ITBS.  This condition first occured back in November so I laid off running for a good 6 weeks and slowly, really slowly  have been starting up again.

I've been getting the odd niggle, so thought I see a physio and ask advice.  Now I have no idea what I expected.  A wave of a magic wand and all would be cured perhaps.

 She went through the 'are you wearing the right shoes etc....', no problem I understand she has to rule the obvious out.  Then apart from a bit of pulling and prodding, and a sheet of excercises that was it.

Dont feel that i learnt any more after I spent £48.00 than before I went in.

Anyone else seen a physio with this?  I was sure she would be talking doing excercises with a role mat or something.  I have the Reading half coming up and dont now know whether to go for it, rest or what........

http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?UTN=120929&URN=4&dt=4&srchdte=0&cp=1&v=1&sp=

had ITBFS  problem...some help on my thread

When I had physio for ITBS it was excruciating - I told the physio it was worse than childbirth it hurt that much.

I now have a foam roller and inflict the pain on myself instead

I wasted £38 and an hour of my life by visiting a phys when I had ITBS. I got some exercises for patello femoral syndrome and a web adress where I might be able to buy some orthotics.

I did a lot of research into the condition myself... the main outcome being that there's not a lot of proper research out there. However there was one suggestion in the literature was that slower running was more likely to bring on ITBS than faster running ... this was related to the angle of the knee joint at impact. It rang a bell with me as prior to my ITBS, I had been doing lots of very slow runs as part of base training at <70% whr. Then Siance mentioned the Pose running style to me and I thought that it made sence to give it a go as it may be another way to alter the knee angle at impact ... and therfore reduce the friction ... I changed from being a heel striker to a fore-foot striker and I try hard to land with my foot below me and not in front of me ... I can't claim I'm running in Pose as that would take quite some dedication to perfect ... but so far so good ... my ITBS problems have gone.

HTF

Go and see a podiatrist and then a chiropractor - podiatrist will tell you if your feet are causing the injuries in the first place (you will be surprised how responsible those feet can be for all sorts of pains up the legs) and then complement that by seeing a chiro who can tackle the problems harder and more directly than a physio.

No quick fix but if you don't get to the route of it it will just keep re-occurring. Also get a cheap insurance policy such as a hospital fund - you get 50% back on your treatments.

Good luck and don't get down about it - there is not a foot/leg problem out there that hasn't been addressed in these forums and they can mostly be dealt with, over time.

Thats doesn't sound right HTF.

I have or had ITBS and went to see my fizzo, corr talk about pain. She did a massage on my leg with her thumbs running along the band and how that hurt. But after another vist and the same treatment, along with the streches and Rolling a tennis ball along the area I seem to be almost clear. I still get the odd twinge but keep on with the exercises and rolling seems to sort it out.

Sounds like you should find another Physio.

Can anyione help me please?

I saw my friend who's an osteopath with knee pain around 5 months ago.

she said it was the tendon on the outside of my leg pulling on the knee.

She said it could have been my trainers which gave awaful blisters making me run weird an dpossibly also an ingorwn toenail which is now gone.

I got a new pair of trainers and started again after christmas and was fine til last week.  I'd been kneeling down defrosting the freezer- oh, the glamour!, and noticed a couple of days later my knee twingeing again, bit of stifness behind it and thought "oh no"

Ran last night and it got gradually worse, like a sheath of something was creaking across my kneecap and then pain started right at the top of my thigh where it meets the hip.

Could mine be ITBS?  Don't want to ask my friend again as she isn't very pro runner and also has a new baby so could do without me whining at her!

Ideas?

thanks!!!

Catherine

Thanks for the replies

I think seeing another physio is probably the answer.  I ached in the evening, and thought cr@p now she's just made it worse.  No different from going for a  run.  No advice whether to run, dont run.  I think she thought she was working on freeing it up.  Could and have done the stretches myself.

I dont know what it is about a white coat situation.  Just handed over my money and thought that was rubbish.

Think I need to look into the roller.  Having said that, when she pulled my leg about it didnt hurt.  Maybe its not ITBS.  Should it have hurt like mad?

Hard not to get a little sad,  Readings coming up, and I wont fit in my running trouseurs soon!

Hope all other injured peeps are on the mend, and someone can offer advice to Catherine.

I would suggest any injured runner tries to see a therapist / phys / osteo who runs themselves.

Firstly they need the knowledge, but they will have insight and empathy into the injury and know how important running is to the individual. This (in my experience) affects the outcome of treatment.

Then you won't feel you've wasted their time or your £. Unfortunately some of the white coat brigade just don't care enough and IMHO are in the wrong jobs.

Catherine, have a look here for ITBS. It might not be that, esp the stiffness you describe. ITBS is fairly localised to the lateral knee. Yours might be patellofemoral related - but you'll need a proper diagnosis to confirm.