Tight IT band & Hamstring too. Recommend me.

Fatamorgana

Has anyone some good stretches for the IT band as mine is a tad tight?
Likewise he Hamstrings which I seem to have no luck stretching out?

Links appreciated.
Thanks

stevepj

Hi

My understanding (based on reading not medical knowledge) is that it's difficult to stretch out the IT band as it's not strictly a muscle, i've found this article which should help you though - http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?Ar ... &PageNum=1

I've also had problems with my IT band and i went out and purchased a wallpaper seam roller from my local Homebase, every night i lie there and roll this up and down the side of my legs for 30 mins or so and i've found this really help.

Hope this is of some use.

Regards
Steve

blablablacksheep

http://www.runninginjuryoracle.com/

this site, pretty much the bees knees for these things..

It has all the important info about stretches ect .

Also foam roller is the only proper way to get rid of those niggles in IT band i have simular problem and becoming a right pain at times, so need to get a foam roller otherwise it £40 for 30min sports massage...

rock_hopper

Can't recommend a foam roller enough, fantastic piece of kit for preventing your muscles getting tight and reducing the risk of injury. These are the best ones as they don't squash and deform over time, nice and dense! A worthy investment, but be warned, it will hurt at first.

https://www.physique.co.uk/dolc_product ... 1&PCId=435

nozzac

A lot of people have trouble lengthening hamstrings. Stretching muscles is a long process and you have to do it right and for long enough. Don't do it before exercise but when you're warm afterwards. You need to stretch for at least a minute and multiple times. There are lots of ham stretches but only a few seems to work well: http://www.healthcentral.com/ency/408/i ... 19485.html and the same thing but with your leg on a low chair or something. You want the first one with a straight leg which tends to hit behind the knee and the second one will tend to hit the body of the muscle more, especially if you allow a slight bend to the leg.

You're looking at months to get a few degrees of extra mobility.

Plenty of people have "tight hamstrings" and are quite healthy and injury free. It's just the way some people are. So you might not need to get too obsessive about it unless you know otherwise.

Skydiver74

rock_hopper wrote:

Can't recommend a foam roller enough, fantastic piece of kit for preventing your muscles getting tight and reducing the risk of injury. These are the best ones as they don't squash and deform over time, nice and dense! A worthy investment, but be warned, it will hurt at first.

https://www.physique.co.uk/dolc_product ... 1&PCId=435

^^^wht this says!! Can't recommend foam roll enough. It will sort out IT band and good for glutes and calves and particularly good for a back stretch.

Fatamorgana

Thanks.
The physio was vociferous in his damnation about the uselessness of rollers.
I'll look into this - thanks.

andysol

I had the same issue this year and i tried a few stretches from the physio to stretch hamstrings, IT band, Quads etc. There's a std sheet to help with positions but you need to hold the positions for 30sec each for a number of reps each. It can take 15mins or so for a series of stretches. I also the foam roller which felt pretty good actually. And the IT band definatley feels worked afterwords.

I also use an IT Band strap from amazon which i thought helped, this is strapped above the knee with a pad which goes directly on the IT band point near the knee joint. I used to be crippled after 15 miles. And my problem set me back 3-4 months of stretches + bike setup

But the biggest thing for me was saddle height and fore aft position. I had my position much too low. I ended up raising by 10mm and moving fwd 20mm

But rest will also be compulsory, I also used Ibruprofen / tablets gel, ice packs / spray.

you cannot ride through it! Scar tissue will form at the point of inflammation.
good luck

Fatamorgana

The stretching is going okay.
The initial problem with the leg - less so.
I still say there's a tear in the lat' quad. 18 months on.
Holding out for an MRI scan to see what's going wrong.

Thanks

Fatamorgana

Hi.
Any firm recommendations for an roller?
Thanks

blablablacksheep

I got given the "Grid" form roller it pretty pricy for foam rollers but been told by others who have it it lasts nearly 3x+ that of normal rollers and is pretty compact which is quite good for hiding away rather than a 1mtr+one sitting in the house.

Be warned it very painfull doing it though.

Again i cant recommend that site i posted as it has plenty of exercises and videos to show you howto fix IT band issues