Do you suffer from pain on the outside of your knee? If that’s the case, you could have iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) or IT band syndrome for short. IT band syndrome is most widely known as an overuse injury that is common in endurance athletes like runners and bikers. It affects a tissue that runs from the side of your hip all of the way down past your knee. Most of the time, the inflammation manifests itself as pain on the outside of the knee. It can be incredibly painful and is typically a frustratingly stubborn injury to deal with.
At Restore we find that these are the Top 5 Causes of IT Band Syndrome:
1. Weak Hip Muscles
2. Shoe or orthotic Issues
3. Tight Tissue
4. Poor running Form
5. Overuse
We always check the hips first! Tight muscles in your hips or along the side of the leg can be a major contributing factor to IT band syndrome. All of these tissues are connected, so even though the location of the pain is in the knee, the hips can very well be the area that needs the most attention.