Quote:
Originally Posted by LoyalGatorFan
Well let me start out by saying the ultimate solution to any lower extremity and spinal injury is to stop running....running is terrible for you in terms of the musculoskeletal system....each time your foot hits when running you send a GRF (Ground Reaction Force) up the kinetic chain of the body...and over time it just wears out your knees, hams, calves, feet, lower back, etc....in an ideal world I would tell everyone to do cardio with machines (tread, elliptical, bike,etc) but I know thats not going to happen...
Anyway with the OP, you do wanna stretch the ITB actively because not only can it cause ITB syndrome if it's tight, it can also lead to PFPS (patellafemoral pain syndrome)...what happens with PFPS is the ITB pulls the patella (kneecap) outwards and gets the patella out of its groove in the joint...thus causing irritation on the underside of the patella...think of a train being off the tracks...its gonna grind and grind until it wears out the brakes/rails/etc....this is called chondromalacia....
As far as the foam roller, I did not realize it is being called into question...I know a number of physical therapists who have their patients perform this exercise...i liken it to a combination of a ITB stretch and massage....it helps to break up the tight muscle fibers....
And yes the glutes are a major player...your glutes along with your piriformis (the muscle that can cause sciatica) are external rotators of the hip...meaning if they are tight they are going to cause the whole leg to turn outwardly thus making the ITB tighten...conversely if the internal rotators of the hip are tight, its gonna cause the leg to turn inward and put the ITB on stretch....so Dreamliner yes your glutes are a major player in preventing and treating ITB syndrome...make sure you have the patients with ITB stretch the glutes....to be more specific I would say the piriformis and gluteus medius are the two biggies....
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Thanks for the feedback. I suspect that you're on the money on the glutes. The recent reservations arise from the nature of the ITB - it's unbelievably tough. In any case, the two runners I'm working with are WEAK in the lower body. They find bodyweight squats and lunges challenging. One had come to me for an upper-body program "because their lower-body was already strong from running." I told her, "no, it's not."
