Weak ITB

Sep 12, 2011

• Oliver Bruton asked The Guru for the following Physiotherapy Advice:

  Hi - I hope you are able to shed some light on this issue! I regularly run (both outside and on treadmills) and I have made sure I have all the correct footwear and do the necessary stretching before and after exercise. Recently, 10-15 minutes into a run, I get this aching pain on the outside of my right knee. It seems to hurt more when I push up off of the floor with my right leg when running. It also seems to worsen with different terrain. I've done a bit of research and it looks as though it might be due to a weak illiotibial band. Are there any exercises/anything I can do to clear this up? As it stand I can't run because it will just start hurting! Many thanks for any advice! Oliver.

• The Six Physio Guru responded:

  Hi Oli Sounds bang on the money. It's an overuse problem because of something....know what the something is and the problem goes away. You've done the fairly standard things, but insted of the ITB being weak think of it being over used because you don't use your gluts well enough. It's not about your gluts not being strong enough, but it's the lack of control - when to switch on and off during running. Simple test for Glut control is best seen when doing a single leg squat. Does your knee roll in, does your hip drop and do you point your foot out? Yes to any of these with or without pain, through range and you don't have control. Learn to control your glut by squatting and lunging well. It's not what you're doing it's how your doing it.... The Guru

1 Comment

• Responded:

  Dec 04, 2011

  I had no idea how to approach this before-now I'm locked and laoded.