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Pain in outside of knee; IT band? (Read 2628 times)

spidermonkey09

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Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 09:47:42 am
Hi all,

A few weekends ago in the Lakes I aggravated something in my right leg walking up to Scafell with a massive bag on. The result is some quite acute pain in the outside of my right knee, particularly when walking downhill or down stairs. Googling suggests this is highly likely to be IT band inflammation and so for the last week or so I've been rolling and strecthing it quite heavily.

It seemed to get better for a while but the last few days it has really hurt, particularly when fully straightening the knee. On occasion this has been quite crippling and meant I couldn't weight the leg at all. This is really irritating as I'm going to Ceuse in two weeks and I suspect the walk in (and particularly out) is going to really, really hurt. That said, I know its a common issue, so has anyone had any experience with exercises which helped them relieve the pain?

I gather that an imbalance anywhere in the leg muscles can often refer the pain to the outside of the knee so appreciate it may not be that simple...any ideas welcome.

SamT

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#1 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 09:54:02 am

Walking Poles!!

How old are you??  40+ = painful knees,  Mine started failing me in my 30s.

SA Chris

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#2 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 10:11:40 am
Go see a specialist.

I though i had continual IT band issues and tried lots of things to fix it. but an osteo looked and said i have a very mobile tibia, and said stretching, rolling exercises won't help much, it's just going to be sore after big days out.

Said in fact rolling was probably making it worse as it was pushing the tibia out against the mobile ligament.


spidermonkey09

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#3 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 10:15:17 am
I'm 24; too young for this shit!

Yeah I am very much going to see someone who knows what they're talking about; just seeing what was out there to help mitigate the pain walking up and down that hill in France...

Stabbsy

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#4 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 10:16:05 am
The symptoms sound like something I had which was IT band/glute related, but it could be lots of things. Weak glutes can cause the hip to drop when you're going downhill which can cause inflammation in the IT band at the knee. Have you ever tried to do single leg squats? Can you keep your knee straight when doing them or does it wobble or drop inwards? If so, it probably wouldn't do any harm to do some glute strengthening work - clams, single leg bridges, side leg raises, monster walks/squats. If it helps then great, if it doesn't then go see someone who can actually diagnose it properly.

Not sure how much good rolling the IT band does. The IT band won't stretch much/at all and it often isn't the IT band that is the problem.

T_B

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#5 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 10:28:42 am
I've been doing these exercises for glutes with a kettlebell. More 'fun' than bridging exercises I'm finding...


SamT

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#6 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 11:41:12 am

Yeah - I guess 24 is a little young for that ... take solace in the fact that you'll heal.

just seeing what was out there to help mitigate the pain walking up and down that hill in France...

Walking poles!!! - think of it as sparing your knees now, for use in later life!. 



SA Chris

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#7 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 11:44:39 am
I'm just shy of 50, and thanks to including some running in my weekly exercise routine, my legs are feeling stronger than they ever did in my 30s and 40s. may well fall to bits in the next year though...

highrepute

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#8 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 12:07:53 pm
I had ITB problems in my 20s that related to running. But presented itself very similar to what you say. Hurt especially when walking downhill (i used to walk downhill backwards when it was at it's worse). Actually a remember being worried about the walk back from ceuse when I went but it was actually fine while I was there - i think not sitting at a desk/driving all day really helped.

A number of things helped me.
Foam rolling.
Weak glutes as mentioned.
Not wearing hiking boots - somehow the restriction on my ankle movement made it worse. I only wear approach shoes now.
Changed my running shoes - I got "fitted" by the guy in ashop with a pair that were meant to correct some over pronation of my ankle or some bs. I blame them for starting the whole thing. I try get none-stiff running shoes now (hold toe and heel and twist shoe, should allow lots of movement in this plane) with minimal rise in the heel padding (i.e. the heel isn't higher that the toe).
Posture when walking/running - engage the glutes.
Changed running style - stopped heel striking and started toe striking - especially downhill.

It took me years to get over it and stopped me running for a long time. Basically during that time I was figuring out the things mention above. I'd really recommend trying some different shoes. This doesn't need to mean buying a new pair but just using a different pair even if they are not really practical (like walking up to ceuse in Converse might make all the difference). I never saw a professional but my partner is a physio ;D
« Last Edit: June 15, 2018, 12:28:17 pm by highrepute »

T_B

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#9 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 12:12:57 pm
Good post that.

I'm going through all this (problem is hammies and glutes. Oh and achilles). Am using 4mm drop shoes and midfoot striking now.

You can get Zero drop shoes (Altra).

Running on softer surfaces really helps.

Ref knees. Lots of misinformation about knees. My knees start to hurt when I stop running. Though I would always advocate poles for walking.

spidermonkey09

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#10 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 12:49:19 pm
Thanks all; sounds like walking poles are an excellent shout, I will get hold of some before I go.

Sounds like it might be glute related but its so hard to know! Won't do any harm to try the exercises I suppose so will give it a go.

I am definitely not a runner; I tried briefly but it hurt my heels and ankles so I sacked it off. As such I suspect its to do with overloading it in the Lakes, although weirdly it hurt after the uphill section! Maybe I should start doing yoga...

mrjonathanr

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#11 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 15, 2018, 11:02:23 pm
I developed  a very swollen knee training for the marathon, didn’t want to take time off as had very little to spare.

Physio identified a muscular imbalance that meant instead of knee bending in just a vertical plane, weakness in glute and muscles on medial side of knee allowed some sideways movement that caused rubbing on the patella and inflammation.

A week off, targeted weights/exercises to correct and all was fine- and the knee had been too swollen to allow it to bend fully.

My point is, a muscular imbalance may be the cause and easily fixed with the right advice.

spidermonkey09

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#12 Re: Pain in outside of knee; IT band?
June 16, 2018, 09:50:50 am
I developed  a very swollen knee training for the marathon, didn’t want to take time off as had very little to spare.

Physio identified a muscular imbalance that meant instead of knee bending in just a vertical plane, weakness in glute and muscles on medial side of knee allowed some sideways movement that caused rubbing on the patella and inflammation.

A week off, targeted weights/exercises to correct and all was fine- and the knee had been too swollen to allow it to bend fully.

My point is, a muscular imbalance may be the cause and easily fixed with the right advice.

Physio booked for next Friday so we shall see what they reckon...sure it's nothing too chronic!

 

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