Acupuncture worked very well for me in loosening the ITB, allowing the foam roller (try the trigger point foam roller, or a quadballer, rather than a conventional soft foam roller) to work its painful magic.

I've found yoga to be very helpful whenever my ITB starts 'flicking'. If I haven't been to my yoga class for a while, I tend to start getting trouble again.

I was not at as high a mileage when I first got ITBS. It took me six weeks from onset of pain before I could run more than a half mile without the pain kicking in. I was doing strengthening exercises (clams and bridge), foam roller (which was painful at first but helped a lot) and tennis ball as well as some effective stretches ("pigeon stretch"). Did you see a physio? Mine was able to pinpoint stretches that worked for me (some stretches didn't do anything). She also gave me a painful massage! I now have piriformis pain on the same side as I had ITBS (although the ITBS has cleared). Apparently it all stems from an imbalance in the strength of my glues, am working on that.

I suffered with ITBS, and unfortunately it took several months to recover (walking and stairs were impossible for the first week!). I got over it by; not running for about 3 months (switched to swimming), paying to see a sports physio (stretching, massage, foam roller, ultrasonic treatment), then getting proper gait analysis for trainers once I resumed running.The hardest thing was the psychological trauma of not being able to run for so long, which is why I highly recommend having a second sport that you can do when the ITBS is bothering you!!Good luck!

Running isn't natural?? I think humans having been running a lot longer than they've been sitting on chairs in surgerys. What an idiot! Why is he waiting until September to refer you?I've had ITBS and it took months to get better. I couldn't walk at any pace for probably a month but gradually it got better with rest and then gradual exercise and stretching. It's now been 8 months with no problems at all and last night I ran 10 miles without any problems.It will get better ITBS is not a killer!

NHS physios do plenty of fab things, but sports injuries is not one of them. For ITBS I have seen a physio, and sports doctor (fab but very expensive) but a good sports massage, plus stretching exercises and above all, the foam roller are the things that work for me. A good sports massage works a treat but if you're trying not to spend, a foam roller twice a day, with stretching, and not running (sorry) until I can roll without pain are the only things that have sorted me out.

i agree running is totally natural to humans!  i had ITBS 6 onths fater i first started running, the cold weather made it worse combined with upping mileage too...i found the roller idea worked although it hurt to do it and stretching everyday. i was in a lot of pain and as mentioned above stairs were a big problem for me....ive had twinges again lately as i increase my long run from 13miles upto 15/16 so i am going very carefully...if you are using roller then it took 3 months of that and stretching to be able to run without pain

Hey RebeccaSorry your GP wasn't helpful with your running injury. Most GPs are not specialists in running injuries which is probably why their suggestion was one that would alleviate the symptoms but didn't take into account how important running is for you. I agree with running_chemist that the hardest thing (about being injured) is the frustration of having to stop running. On the plus side ITBS is a common running injury and there are a barrage of approaches suggested to work around it. A good physio will give you suggestions so you can get back to running injury-free as soon as it is safe for you to do so without risking further injury.Good luck with it all. (Another advantage of going private is being able to get an appointment quickly and at a time to suit you.)ejc

 I have had itbs for about 6 months, I am still on the waiting list with the hospital to see a physio. So I paid privately, now it's finally getting better, stopped running for about a month, and now only allowed to do 2 miles no more than 3 times a wk. When I first started back the pain came back, I do my stretches, but could not get on with a foam roller, so I bought a thumbit, found it very good and useful.It's a very long process, I have been running about 2 months now, so have decided this wk to up my mileage with guidance from my physio, going to start on 2.5 miles now. I find it hard because I was training for the cardiff half marathon, and starting all over again from scratch, has been very soul destroying for me, but I can say with the greatest of pleasure that I am starting to enjoy running again, albeit I do wait with bated breath for the excruciating pain to kick in, still not 100% right, but about 96% so getting there slowly.