Every year, I receive a lot of questions about recovering from IT Band Syndrome and I understand why…it sucks!
There is the moment when you first think you can run through it because hey sometimes running is uncomfortable, then the final moment where you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake. While it can feel like recovery is never ending, I’m hear to tell you it’s entirely possible to 100% recover from IT Band Syndrome.
My initial injury knocked me out for months, then I spent years with off and on pain. As soon as I committed to strengthening my hips that cycle stopped!
Learn from my mistakes and get those hips strong with PRE-HAB before you ever need RE-HAB. Every runner with knee, hip or IT Band issues receives news from the Physical Therapist that they need to strengthen their hips.
The image below shows how the hip misalignment due to weakness can cause problems all the way down your leg and results in IT Band Syndrome or runner’s knee by rotating the leg, changing your gait and shortening muscles.
How to Tell if Your Hips are Out of Alignment
Hip rotation is a common occurrence and many resolve it by going to the chiropractor. However, this is usually just one part of the formula, to ensure that you don’t need to go back weekly it is important to also perform exercises that strengthen the muscles around our pelvis and continue daily hip stretches.
Compare your left and right side: is it harder to balance on one side? Is one side is weaker, more painful, tighter, or stiffer? If any of this is true, your pelvis may be rotated.
Another test is to lie on your back on the floor, bring your knees to your chest, and then slowly stretch them straight on the floor or against a wall. Ask a running buddy to see if one leg is longer than then the other {I can often tell this on my own with legs up the wall}.
They can do this by holding a broom stick or other rod across your feet, then across your hipbones while you are still laying face up and then face down. Most often, the right hipbone appears to be higher than the left one, if the pelvis is rotated.
Image source
Hip Alignment Exercises
After being assessed or seen by a chiropractor, here are a few at home exercises to help continue creating hip strength to prevent pelvic rotation. These should be done in conjunction with the hip stretches!! As always I am not a doctor and you should consult one before starting any routine, but have found these to be helpful myself.
Isometric Holds
Lie on your back with both legs on the ground, bend your right leg and pull in to your chest.
Place hands around your thigh, creating light resistance, push away with your leg for 10 seconds.
Place your hands in front of your knee, creating light resistance, and push your leg towards your chest for 10 seconds.
90/90 Hip Rotation
Lie on the ground with knees bent at 90 degrees and a block or pillow in-between.
Begin to drop your knees to the right, keeping both shoulders on the ground. If your shoulder comes up you have gone too far.
Return to center and rotate to the left.
Leg rotation Leg Lifts
There are two exercises here which can be used to continue working on hip strength
Lay on your stomach with arms down by your side
Bend right knee to 90 degrees
Slowly rotate the lower portion of the leg out to the left, keeping the leg on the ground
Return to center and rotate right
The second exercise is done laying on your side.
Lift the top leg and simultaneously rotate the knee towards the ceiling
As you lower rotate the knee down (keeping the leg fully straight)
Scorpion Stretch
Lay on your stomach with arms stretched out to form a T.
Begin to left your left leg in the air and rotate it across the mid-line of your body, touching the ground on the right side of your body.
Come back to resting and repeat on the opposite side
— This is also wonderful for the low back, but go slow to start.
If you need a visual of the exercises, here is a quick video demonstration, as well as videos for the other recommended moves linked below.
Hip rotation is not the only cause of IT Band or Knee pain, weak hips and glutes are equally to blame.
The key is to find a few moves, you will commit to doing consistently and make them one’s that you can really feel.
For example, on of my favorite moves shared here How I almost overnight resolved my knee pain works for me because the very first time I did it I could feel my glute activating in ways no other move had. Try out a few of the different moves in these posts to find stretches that feel good or moves that are HARD enough.
Hip Extension and Mobility for Runners
The lunge matrix used by many PT’s for IT Band recovery
Exercises for Runner’s Knee recovery
3 Dimensional Exercises for hip flexors {needed for those who sit all day}
Strengthen your glutes {often underactive in IT Band sufferers due to quad dominance}
What’s your favorite (least) way to strengthen hips?
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SuzLyfe says
June 26, 2015 at 12:51 pmI preach ad nauseum to my trainees and clients about hip, glute and ankle strength and stability. They are probably so over it. I have to be adjust every now and then, but my yoga practice has really benefited me. I need to really get back to it and reestablish my practice before I get further into marathon training!
wendy says
June 26, 2015 at 4:09 pmAwesome post, Amanda! When I started working with my coach (she's a crossfit coach, not a running coach!), one of the first things she did was evaluate my hips, and yep, I worked on that for a long time. Once my hips were balanced and stronger, we focused more on the glutes, which continues to be a work in progress. What a difference that work has made in my running!
My recent post The eyes have it
thisrunnersrecipes says
June 26, 2015 at 5:32 pmGreat exercises, Amanda! Hip stability is SO important for runners (and really anyone who is athletic or works a desk job!). I used to make my Pilates students do a ton of hip strengthening exercises like side lying leg lifts and bridges. Sharing this everywhere!
My recent post Red Wine Brown Rice Risotto
Beth says
June 27, 2015 at 8:21 pmThank you so much for providing so much wonderful information! It's amazing how small misalignments in the hips can cause big issues elsewhere. I've been taking a lot of barre classes lately, which have been hugely helpful in strengthening my hip stabilizers. I'm feeling like a much stronger runner because of my strong hips!
erinkate80 says
July 2, 2015 at 4:46 pmA million thanks for this! This is something so many athletes suffer with. Great info! :))
Liz F says
September 5, 2015 at 2:16 pmLOVE that you included a video with all of these exercises! I only learned recently that my knee problems are a result of my hips being outta whack, so seeing these simple things that I can do to help fix these issues is great.
Yolo says
October 25, 2015 at 3:51 pmHi, this helped me a lot. Thank you :)
Christy Garrett says
May 14, 2016 at 8:23 pmI have been having issues with my it band. It is a pain in the leg. I got mine from having long term back problems. It got worse after I had back surgery in Dec. It has caused bursitis in my hips. I have been in physical therapy for three months now. They have been rolling my it band. It's helped some.
My recent post How To Prepare Your Body For a Marathon
Chris says
January 16, 2017 at 11:46 amJust stumbled on this article and video. I’ve been suffering with knee pain from lack of hip stability for years. Putting your exercises to work ASAP! Thanks so much!