During my second 8-miler EVER, an old friend decided to visit. My illiotibial band on my right light decided to get tight and my knee buckled in the fourth mile. Needless to say, I was frustrated. I have done everything to prevent this reoccurring injury, and I’m on a training schedule. My IT band should know better! Well, I knew that I’d have to take time off from running to heal from this injury. I hobbled home and four miles later I had my knee iced up, elevated, and I had already swigged down half a bottle of children’s Advil to stop the inflammation.
As I grew restless from sitting there, trying to recover, I wondered what Elite runners do to recover from this common injury. So I got up and researched. I found this… How to Treat Injuries Like an Elite, an article by Jason Fitzgerald, a 2:39 marathoner, and USATF-certified coach. He has an ITBS Rehab Routine which focuses on strengthening weak hips, one of the main causes of ITBS. After trying it once, I noticed that my left leg is significantly stronger than my right leg. Maybe that’s why my right leg got injured!
I also talked to my friend Ken who’s going to school for this type of stuff and he told me that the best thing to do during recovery is COMPRESSION. Compression sends more blood to the spot you need it most, and most likely will speed up the recovery, so guess what I did the very next day? I’ll compress my leg until it feels better, and I’ll probably run with it wrapped up as well. I’ll just have a pretty awesome tan line. 🙂
Along with my rehab routine and compression, I’ll be stretching my hips and my IT band with yoga, focusing on these poses:
I’m going to do this routine every other day during my recovery and after my runs when I start up again. Wish me luck! Happy injury-free running!
For more ITBS recovery techniques, see Loretta’s Two-Stage Massage.
Leg It Leilani 