How Do You Know If You Have Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
Iliotibial Band syndrome is a common injury amongst athletes, cyclists, weightlifters and endurance/adventure sport practitioners. It is an injury that affects the Iliotibial band, a length of fibrous tissue that runs down the outside of the thigh bone until the top of the shin bone. Along with other thigh muscles, it is the Iliotibial band that provides the knee a support system that helps in all activities associated with the knee.
The first symptom that indicates an Iliotibial band injury is a marked swelling of the knee and hip joints. This is caused by the inflammation that takes place when the Iliotibial band is stretched across the end of the femur. Another indicator is the pain that one experiences when the knee is bent at an angle greater than 30 degrees. The pain is experienced laterally across the knee but is caused by the heel striking the floor when one walks or runs. One might be advised to cure iliotibial band syndrome if there is an undue tightening of the Iliotibial band itself and there is resultant swelling. If one feels a certain amount of tenderness around the hip joints, it is best to check for ITB syndrome.
Sometimes ITB syndrome is caused by wrong training practices. If one continuously uses pitched surfaces for training or if most of the training is downhill running, then it is possible for the Iliotibial band to be abraded. If these people experience severe pain when their heels hit the floor in their rhythm of walking or running, then they might be suffering from ITB syndrome. Obesity is also a cause for this injury. New research methods have also associated hypothyroidism with this injury. Iliotibial band syndrome is also common amongst people who have problems with their stance and gait patterns. Any piercing pain in and around the knee area but not of the knee itself might be seen as an Iliotibial injury, so it becomes necessary to cure iliotibial band syndrome.