I went down the IT Band rabbit hole

and about threw my computer out the window.

If you're new here, I'm already NOT huge into foam rolling.

(no, it's not "bad"...I have complicated relationship with it.)

...I think it can be overused and seen as a quick, cure-all touted by fitness gurus.

ESPECIALLY when it comes to IT Band pain.

Think about it: what is foam rolling supposed to do?

Pretend this is a pop quiz and you have to answer the question "how does foam rolling help and/or cure IT Band syndrome?"

...if you've got a *dear in the headlights look* I don't blame you.

Because I never see a "why" when the "wisdom of the internet" suggests foam rolling. And the theory of "it breaks up adhesions or scar tissues" is an absolute lie. Your IT Band is as strong as steel (no, really; there's a cadaver study on it).

So after wanting to defenestrate my lap top...

(look it up; it's my favorite word)

I decided to go down this rabbit hole the smart way.

I found a masterclass for PT continuing education credits by Dr. Rich Willy of the Montana Running Lab...and I've been fan-girling for almost a week now.

IT Band syndrome is one of the most common sources of lateral or outside knee pain for runners but it's been severally misunderstood for ?YEARS.

One of the biggest mistakes I see runners make is assuming that...

because the IT Band runs the entire lateral aspect of your thigh, that therefore, you'll feel pain starting in your hip and running down all the way to your knee.

Because that's partly what I was taught in PT school.

I KNOW; completely exposing myself here.

We were also taught that IT Band pain could potentially result from the distal insertion (or far end of it that plugs into knee) rubbing repeatedly on bony bump as the knee bends and straightens as you run.

For some reason, that never made sense to me. I just didn't buy it. Because then wouldn't EVERY RUNNER ALWAYS having this problem??

The math was not mathing.

And then Dr. Rich Willy came to the rescue.

So in this week's blog post, we're getting very nerdy.

We're talking about:

• how IT Band *actually* happens
• why you feel pain in the outside of your knee AND NOT up in your hip
• why the old anatomical model is bogus now
• and the various lies the internet will try and tell you about what causes IT Band (such as having flat feet and pronating a lot --> aka: me)

I know it's a different blog post than normal.

But if you've ever struggled with IT Band issues or have had a runner-friend who has...

This is going to be revolutionary.

See you over there and...

Dare to Train Differently,

Marie Whitt, PT, DPT //@dr.whitt.fit

P.S. No really, everything the internet says about ITB is mostly wrong. And some of these include things I learned in PT school- YIKES!

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