Quote: (12-06-2014 01:01 AM)Prophylaxis Wrote:
Quote: (12-02-2014 11:31 PM)birdie num num Wrote:
Thank you for your time and generosity, Prophylaxis. It's greatly appreciated.
Do you have experience dealing with pain in the iliotibial band, or IT band? For around 5-6 months I've been experiencing soreness in my left IT band. The pain is roughly 2/3 the way down from the hip. When standing or walking around, there is virtually no pain or discomfort. It's only painful when I stand up after having been seated at the computer for an hour or so. It hurts when I get out of the chair to stand up and place pressure on the left leg. It goes away after I start walking. There is absolutely no pain in the right IT band.
My leg workout routine involves one day per week of front squats with low weight and high reps (12-15) for 3-4 sets, and trap bar dead lifting, one day per week, with moderate weight for 3 sets of 10 reps. I've been lifting for roughly 30 years and there has never been a problem.
Aside from weights, I ride my bike through hilly terrain 2-3 times per week for roughly one hour each session. I've been doing these rides for close to 15 years and there has never been any resulting pain. Perhaps it is my age (51 y.o.) catching up with me?
I'm disciplined about stretching after each workout and I also foam roll the IT band twice per week. Foam rolling doesn't seem to help.
Do you have any suggestions on how to treat this problem? I Googled the topic, but most articles pertain to runners and many refer to pain where the band connects to the knee. The area around my knee is fine. It's the section near the middle that hurts. Below is an image indicating where the pain exists.
Thanks again and any suggestions are appreciated.
Hey birdie,
Thanks for the detailed info about your regime - helps me a lot.
Just need to work out whether it's coming from your back or hip.
Does it hurt if you sit in a low chair?
Any pain when you sleep on the sore leg? (lying on your side)?
Any tingling or numbness down the leg?
Which of these movements hurt?
Hey Prophylaxis,
Thanks for responding. Here are the answers to your questions.
Does it hurt if you sit in a low chair?
I can feel slight soreness while sitting in a low chair, but it's nothing unbearable. The pain becomes sudden and sharp as I stand up out of the chair. It's the same motion as pressing up during a squat. By low chair I mean that my thighs are parallel to the floor. If I cross my left leg over the right knee while sitting then there will be slight pain.
Any pain when you sleep on the sore leg? (lying on your side)?
No pain today when sleeping in a bed. However, in August I took a 3-day backpacking trip in the mountains and was walking around 5-8 miles per day. At night, while sleeping on an air mattress, the IT band was too sore and painful to sleep on my side.
Any tingling or numbness down the leg?
No tingling or numbness whatsoever.
Which of these movements hurt?
None of those movements in the diagram hurt. It's only when emerging from a seated position. Also, I can feel slight pain while seated. While walking around during the day I can feel occasional soreness, but nothing debilitating and I don't need a cane.
This evening I went bike riding and there was no pain while pedaling.
This may be relevant, but 2 years ago I was diagnosed with early degenerative disc disease in the lower back (the L-4 L-5 section). Could that be related to the IT band? It wouldn't seem to be, but perhaps it is?
I understand if the info I gave may not be enough to figure out the problem. It could be age related, but who knows?
Thanks again for any advice!