Foam roller use for ITB
topcattim
Posts: 766
I came off my bike 3 weeks ago and hit my hip hard. I've been to a physio who has done a fine job on my previous injuries and he has advised a range of exercises including foam rolling my IT bands which are tight on both legs but worse on the injured side. It is extraordinarily painful but I've been doing 2 minute bursts, very slowly, supporting a lot of my body weight to make it tolerable. I did a bit of internet searching (you always find truth on the internet!) and I found that some opinions advise strongly against roller use to ease ITB. I'm inclined to stick with the advice of my previously successful physio, who has the advantage of proper training, but given the controversy I wondered what other people thought about this. Any positive or negative experiences?
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Yes it hurts at first but do the exercise daily and correctly and its a massive aid to recovery and the pain reduces to a level where it's slightly uncomfortable. I still squeak in pain if I miss a few days which is of great amusement to my girls.
The British cycling website have a video to showcase the correct use of a foam roller.
No big issue with supporting your weight but you do need to roller where it hurts, slowly and rotate the leg as well so you work the circumfence of the muscle.“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring”
Desmond Tutu0 -
That's encouraging! Thanks for the direction to the BC page on this. 2 weeks of daily use for me, then. Hoping that the pain will subside slowly!0
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Hi Tim,
Have you noticed any improvement in the flexibility of your hip flexors since you started using the roller?0 -
Great question, which I guess is the one I should be asking myself about the use of the foam roller? I've had limited flexibility in both my hips for some time - and it is particularly limited at the moment on the injured side. I'm combining the roller with some stretching exercises, and I can feel some increased flexibility across both - in particular, I can now, gently, climb steps two at a time on my injured side when I had been unable to do so as a result of the injury. So, yes, getting better, and I guess that is a green light to continue, gently...Hi Tim,
Have you noticed any improvement in the flexibility of your hip flexors since you started using the roller?0 -
That's good to hear. I have been thinking of incorporating a roller into my stretching as there is one in my gym in the corner gathering dust, but I have been intimidated a little by reports on how painful they can be. Best quit my excuses and 'jump on' next time I am there
Thanks0 -
I recently came across a similar product with the same purpose - far superior to a foam roller imo and easier to use...
http://www.rollrecovery.com/VO2 Max - 79 ml/kg/min
W/kg - 4.90 -
Yowser that looks a little bit scary, not sure I like the idea of rollerblade wheels pressing into my muscles !!0
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I've been using mine to recovery from extremely painful ITB issues caused by a half marathon. I couldn't walk on the monday, fine by thursday. Rolling morning and night every day to start with.
Make sure to pay attention to the area your ITB attaches around your hip, a lot of issues can be caused there too.Saracen Tenet 3 - 2015 - Dead - Replaced with a Hack Frame
Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
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I did a bit of internet searching (you always find truth on the internet!) and I found that some opinions advise strongly against roller use to ease ITB.
So let us tell you a different truth
I don't know who was saying not to foam roll your ITB, or their reasoning, but they may have good intentions; you don't really stretch or roll the the ITB itself as it's a big ass piece of thickened fascia that acts as a tensioner between the hip and knee, it's also connected to the vastus lateralis, rather than being a separate band. What I find most likely is that the vastus lateralis (outermost, largest and most used quad) is tight and you're actually doing some good work on that muscle. It hurts like hell because that muscle is tight and you have to push through the ITB to get to it.
Anecdotally, my own experience with 'ITB' pain has been quadriceps tendonitis that was fixed partly by rolling the VL (as above), which would make it seem like I was rolling the ITB. I'm also lucky that I now have a tendinous ganglion (or whatever) where my VL joins near the patella so I know the problem wasn't ITB syndrome, which would have manifested itself over that bony protrusion on the outside of the knee.
It's worth pointing out that you can also work on the tensor fascia latae and the glutes, both of which connect to the ITB. The TFL and glutes may be particularly pertinent as they're muscles that would bear the brunt of a hip impact and have a big bearing on tightness down the ITB.
P.S. A good physio trumps internets peepz.I'm on Twitter! Follow @olake92 for updates on my racing, my team's performance and some generic tweets.0 -
I did a bit of internet searching (you always find truth on the internet!) and I found that some opinions advise strongly against roller use to ease ITB.
So let us tell you a different truth
P.S. A good physio trumps internets peepz.
Absolutely agree re a good physio. Not much point me paying for his advice if I'm not going to follow it!
FWIW, I found that the rolling became very much more bearable over the four or five days that I was doing it, three out four times a day.
But yesterday I developed a new symptom, a real feeling of a "click" as something did over the hip bone, that made it painful to walk. So I'll be going back to the physio just to check I've been following his advice correctly.0
