Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?

I'm fairly certain I've developed this in my right knee after my trip
to Hull and Back 10 days ago.  On that ride I had lateral knee pain
after finishing the trip to Hull.  This pain subsided within a few
hours but re-appeared about 50 miles into my return ride the next day.

I went out on my bike this afternoon for the first time since that trip
(waiting for the feeling to come back into my outer left hand fingers
and for my left groin strain to improve!) and after 3 miles the pain
started to come back.  It's a stabbing pain on the lateral knee that is
worse when pedalling uphill and shows itself when knee is flexed about
30 degrees.   I did 20 miles altogether today and by the end the pain
was as bad as it was 10 days ago.  Walking up the stairs really hurt.
Wierd thing though - within 1hr all the pain had gone.

I've checked up on the web and there is a lot written about it.

It looks as though I'm going to have to have my bike fitted better. I
thought it was fine as I'd done over 1000 miles on my new bike and done
several 70 milers and one 110 miler before I experienced any pain in my
knee. There seems to be a difference of opinion re raising or lower the
saddle and it looks as though I may have to change the cleat position
on my right shoe.

If there is anyone else who has suffered, what worked  for you?  Most
sites mention streching excercises and ice packs before and after going
out for a ride.

It's a bloody shame as I've now got the bug for long distance cycling
and was planning to cycle to Swindon in early September.

wrote in message 
news:1120672759.275605.152760@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
>
> I'm fairly certain I've developed this in my right knee after my trip
> to Hull and Back 10 days ago.  On that ride I had lateral knee pain
> after finishing the trip to Hull.  This pain subsided within a few
> hours but re-appeared about 50 miles into my return ride the next day.
>

I believe exercise and stretching is the answer, but my advice is to see a 
sports physio immediately. Best not cycle until you do.

wrote in message 
news:1120672759.275605.152760@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
>
> I'm fairly certain I've developed this in my right knee after my trip
> to Hull and Back 10 days ago.  On that ride I had lateral knee pain
> after finishing the trip to Hull.  This pain subsided within a few
> hours but re-appeared about 50 miles into my return ride the next day.
>
> I went out on my bike this afternoon for the first time since that trip
> (waiting for the feeling to come back into my outer left hand fingers
> and for my left groin strain to improve!) and after 3 miles the pain
> started to come back.  It's a stabbing pain on the lateral knee that is
> worse when pedalling uphill and shows itself when knee is flexed about
> 30 degrees.   I did 20 miles altogether today and by the end the pain
> was as bad as it was 10 days ago.  Walking up the stairs really hurt.
> Wierd thing though - within 1hr all the pain had gone.
>
> I've checked up on the web and there is a lot written about it.
>
> It looks as though I'm going to have to have my bike fitted better. I
> thought it was fine as I'd done over 1000 miles on my new bike and done
> several 70 milers and one 110 miler before I experienced any pain in my
> knee. There seems to be a difference of opinion re raising or lower the
> saddle and it looks as though I may have to change the cleat position
> on my right shoe.
>
> If there is anyone else who has suffered, what worked  for you?  Most
> sites mention streching excercises and ice packs before and after going
> out for a ride.
>
> It's a bloody shame as I've now got the bug for long distance cycling
> and was planning to cycle to Swindon in early September.
>


Yoga works for me, this stretch in particular:

http://www.snapsite.com/guests/sk8ctrl/public/custom/articles/skate.primer/MVC-050S.html

I wonder if that's what I've got? Left knee has been sore on the last
three rides, especially when going uphill or into the wind. I've rested
two days between each (small 20 mile) ride but the pain is still there.

Never had knee pain before. It's only there when cycling.

-- 
Who needs a life when you've got Unix? :-)   
Email: john@unixnerd.demon.co.uk, John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland
Web  : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage!
Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html

wrote in message
news:1120672759.275605.152760@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...

> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
>
> I'm fairly certain I've developed this in my right knee after my trip
> to Hull and Back 10 days ago.  On that ride I had lateral knee pain
> after finishing the trip to Hull.  This pain subsided within a few
> hours but re-appeared about 50 miles into my return ride the next day.
>
> I went out on my bike this afternoon for the first time since that trip
> (waiting for the feeling to come back into my outer left hand fingers
> and for my left groin strain to improve!) and after 3 miles the pain
> started to come back.  It's a stabbing pain on the lateral knee that is
> worse when pedalling uphill and shows itself when knee is flexed about
> 30 degrees.   I did 20 miles altogether today and by the end the pain
> was as bad as it was 10 days ago.  Walking up the stairs really hurt.
> Wierd thing though - within 1hr all the pain had gone.
>
> I've checked up on the web and there is a lot written about it.
>
> It looks as though I'm going to have to have my bike fitted better. I
> thought it was fine as I'd done over 1000 miles on my new bike and done
> several 70 milers and one 110 miler before I experienced any pain in my
> knee. There seems to be a difference of opinion re raising or lower the
> saddle and it looks as though I may have to change the cleat position
> on my right shoe.
>
> If there is anyone else who has suffered, what worked  for you?  Most
> sites mention streching excercises and ice packs before and after going
> out for a ride.
>
> It's a bloody shame as I've now got the bug for long distance cycling
> and was planning to cycle to Swindon in early September.


I suffered from this a couple of years ago. I went to a physiotherapist who
specialised in sports injuries. He diagnosed the problem and gave me a
programme of stretching excersises to follow. I also had two short sessions
of physiotherapy. I think it was the stretching that fixed my knee though.
It took a while to clear (about 3-4 months I think) but sticking to the
excersises worked and was worth the effort, repetition and expense of the
original consultation.

Unsurprisingly, my advice is to get your knee examined by someone qualified
and follow their advice. It worked for me.

tony R.

In message <%pXye.2121$R5.483@news.indigo.ie>, tony R 
 writes

>
>
>
>I suffered from this a couple of years ago. I went to a physiotherapist who
>specialised in sports injuries. He diagnosed the problem and gave me a
>programme of stretching excersises to follow. I also had two short sessions
>of physiotherapy. I think it was the stretching that fixed my knee though.
>It took a while to clear (about 3-4 months I think) but sticking to the
>excersises worked and was worth the effort, repetition and expense of the
>original consultation.
>
>Unsurprisingly, my advice is to get your knee examined by someone qualified
>and follow their advice. It worked for me.



And I presume you didn't get on your bike during that time? :-(

I'm going to check out a physio tomorrow and get a proper bike fit.
-- 
David Bentley

On 07/06/2005 18:59:19 dgb@tarkus.org.uk wrote:


> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?

> I'm fairly certain I've developed this in my right knee after my trip to
> Hull and Back 10 days ago.  On that ride I had lateral knee pain after
> finishing the trip to Hull.  This pain subsided within a few hours but
> re-appeared about 50 miles into my return ride the next day.

> I went out on my bike this afternoon for the first time since that trip
> (waiting for the feeling to come back into my outer left hand fingers and
> for my left groin strain to improve!) and after 3 miles the pain started
> to come back.  It's a stabbing pain on the lateral knee that is worse when
> pedalling uphill and shows itself when knee is flexed about 30 degrees.  I
> did 20 miles altogether today and by the end the pain was as bad as it was
> 10 days ago.  Walking up the stairs really hurt. Wierd thing though -
> within 1hr all the pain had gone.

> I've checked up on the web and there is a lot written about it.

> It looks as though I'm going to have to have my bike fitted better.  I
> thought it was fine as I'd done over 1000 miles on my new bike and done
> several 70 milers and one 110 miler before I experienced any pain in my
> knee.  There seems to be a difference of opinion re raising or lower the
> saddle and it looks as though I may have to change the cleat position on
> my right shoe.

> If there is anyone else who has suffered, what worked for you?  Most sites
> mention streching excercises and ice packs before and after going out for
> a ride.

> It's a bloody shame as I've now got the bug for long distance cycling and
> was planning to cycle to Swindon in early September.


You may want to cosider pedals with more "float", to allow the
knee/ankle to assume a more natural angle during the pedal stroke,
also, how tall are you? Maybe your cranks are to long.  
-- 

Buck

I would rather be out on my Catrike

http://www.catrike.co.uk

dgb@tarkus.org.uk wrote:

> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
>


Yes.  It's nasty as it takes a long time to recover.  I still can't do 
more than a few miles after 4 months.  Go see a physio and get a bike 
fitting.  Changes to my bike almost certainly triggered mine.


> I'm fairly certain I've developed this in my right knee after my trip
> to Hull and Back 10 days ago.  On that ride I had lateral knee pain
> after finishing the trip to Hull.  This pain subsided within a few
> hours but re-appeared about 50 miles into my return ride the next day.


Sounds similar.


> I went out on my bike this afternoon for the first time since that trip
> (waiting for the feeling to come back into my outer left hand fingers
> and for my left groin strain to improve!) and after 3 miles the pain
> started to come back.  It's a stabbing pain on the lateral knee that is
> worse when pedalling uphill and shows itself when knee is flexed about
> 30 degrees.   I did 20 miles altogether today and by the end the pain
> was as bad as it was 10 days ago.  Walking up the stairs really hurt.
> Wierd thing though - within 1hr all the pain had gone.


Still sounding similar.


> 
> I've checked up on the web and there is a lot written about it.
> 
> It looks as though I'm going to have to have my bike fitted better. I
> thought it was fine as I'd done over 1000 miles on my new bike and done
> several 70 milers and one 110 miler before I experienced any pain in my
> knee. There seems to be a difference of opinion re raising or lower the
> saddle and it looks as though I may have to change the cleat position
> on my right shoe.
> 
> If there is anyone else who has suffered, what worked  for you?  Most
> sites mention streching excercises and ice packs before and after going
> out for a ride.


See a physio.  Also get a good bike fitting, ideally from somebody with 
experience of ITBS.

Best of luck

Pete

dgb@tarkus.org.uk wrote:


> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
> 


From descriptions on the net, I might have had this a few weeks back,
although it's not entirely certain. The pain has now gone, and I don't
intend to recreate it just to check it out.

Mine was caused by a mis-aligned cleat on a new pair of shoes. I'd set the
cleat too far to the outside of the shoe and the result was quite severe
pain on the outside of the knee just to the outside of the kneecap.

Correcting the cleat position cured the problem - a week later I did the C2C
without experiencing any further problems, in fact I had less knee pain
when I'd finished than I did when I started.

-- 
Nigel Wade

"David Bentley"  wrote in message
news:JhNrj2FxYEzCFwpg@ntlworld.com...

> In message <%pXye.2121$R5.483@news.indigo.ie>, tony R
>  writes
> >
> >
> >
> >I suffered from this a couple of years ago. I went to a physiotherapist
who
> >specialised in sports injuries. He diagnosed the problem and gave me a
> >programme of stretching excersises to follow. I also had two short
sessions
> >of physiotherapy. I think it was the stretching that fixed my knee
though.
> >It took a while to clear (about 3-4 months I think) but sticking to the
> >excersises worked and was worth the effort, repetition and expense of the
> >original consultation.
> >
> >Unsurprisingly, my advice is to get your knee examined by someone
qualified
> >and follow their advice. It worked for me.
>
>
> And I presume you didn't get on your bike during that time? :-(
>
> I'm going to check out a physio tomorrow and get a proper bike fit.
> -- 


If I remember rightly it was actually 3 years ago. The injury became
apparent after a long ride (100+ miles) mid-June. I didn't cycle at all
until the end of August, but was able to do my normal commute of 5 miles
each way from that time. I may have been able to get back to it earlier but,
as you know, the pain is terrible and I didn't want to jeopardise my
recovery. I didn't do any rides longer than my commute until the following
February - but I normally cut out the leisure rides from October until
February anyway. At this time my knee was giving no problem and I was able
to build up to doing the same 100+ miles rides in summer but this time
causing no injury (and no problems since). So in my case 6 weeks total
lay-off followed by a gradual return to normal worked. The excercise
programme left my knee feeling stronger a lot quicker than this though, and
if the injury had happened earlier in the year I'm sure I'd have been back
trying longer leisure rides earlier.
Hope your recovery goes well,

tony R.

dgb@tarkus.org.uk wrote:

> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?


Not personally, but my wife was diagnosed with this a few years back.
Unfortunately the diagnosis wasn't correct, her problem was
pattelo-femoral tracking disorder. In other words, her knee cap wasn't
sliding up and down in the groove that it should. This can apparently
present with similar symptoms of ITBS (and sometimes ITBS can be a
contibuting factor). Unfortunately for my wife this meant that after
being messed around for a while before she finally got the correct
diagnosis (following X-rays, MRIs etc.) her knee had got into a pretty
bad state. She's been unable to cycle for a couple of years now and
can't walk too far (10 miles or so and she's in real pain). If it had
been diagnosed earlier then it would not have been so serious. She's
due to go in for surgery on her knee in a couple of months, which will
hopefully enable her to get going again.

I don't mean to scare you, but just make sure that if the treatment
you're given doesn't seem to help as much as it should, then you might
want to look at another cause.

Graeme

In message <dama68$bt5$1@south.jnrs.ja.net>, Nigel Wade 
 writes

>dgb@tarkus.org.uk wrote:
>
>> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
>>
>
>From descriptions on the net, I might have had this a few weeks back,
>although it's not entirely certain. The pain has now gone, and I don't
>intend to recreate it just to check it out.
>
>Mine was caused by a mis-aligned cleat on a new pair of shoes. I'd set the
>cleat too far to the outside of the shoe and the result was quite severe
>pain on the outside of the knee just to the outside of the kneecap.
>
>Correcting the cleat position cured the problem - a week later I did the C2C
>without experiencing any further problems, in fact I had less knee pain
>when I'd finished than I did when I started.
>

I've seen a physio today in Loughborough (specialise in sports injuries) 
and I'm on a program of stretch exercises, ultrasound  and massage  of 
the Iliotibial band  (actually a muscle/tendon called the tensor fascia 
lata) and I'm not to cycle for another 2 weeks and gradually, very 
gradually build up my mileage again from7-10 miles to start with.  All 
the training for my long charity ride and the ride itself  has 
apparently caused some imbalance and tightness.  He's also suggested 
that I tilt the saddle downwards a little (its currently horizontal)

The physio is hopeful I still may be able to do my Leicester to Swindon 
ride in late August.  Here's hoping....
-- 
David Bentley

dgb@tarkus.org.uk wrote:

> Anyone else on this group suffered with Iliotibial Band Syndrome?
>
> I'm fairly certain I've developed this in my right knee after my trip
> to Hull and Back 10 days ago.  On that ride I had lateral knee pain
> after finishing the trip to Hull.  This pain subsided within a few
> hours but re-appeared about 50 miles into my return ride the next day.
>
> I went out on my bike this afternoon for the first time since that trip
> (waiting for the feeling to come back into my outer left hand fingers
> and for my left groin strain to improve!) and after 3 miles the pain
> started to come back.  It's a stabbing pain on the lateral knee that is
> worse when pedalling uphill and shows itself when knee is flexed about
> 30 degrees.   I did 20 miles altogether today and by the end the pain
> was as bad as it was 10 days ago.  Walking up the stairs really hurt.
> Wierd thing though - within 1hr all the pain had gone.
>
> I've checked up on the web and there is a lot written about it.
>
> It looks as though I'm going to have to have my bike fitted better. I
> thought it was fine as I'd done over 1000 miles on my new bike and done
> several 70 milers and one 110 miler before I experienced any pain in my
> knee. There seems to be a difference of opinion re raising or lower the
> saddle and it looks as though I may have to change the cleat position
> on my right shoe.
>
> If there is anyone else who has suffered, what worked  for you?


I had a shooting pain in one knee every revolution I pedalled after
about 30-50k a couple of years ago. It started as a dull ache down the
outside of my lower leg and spread to the underneath of the knee cap. I
put it down to tendons but never had a formal diagnosis. Pain killers
reduced the pain and swelling. Eventually it went away, although
"floating" pedal cleats, keeping knees warm all the time and dropping
the saddle may all have helped. Apparently other stretching exercises
to make the affected muscle more elastic (it is not used for cycling
apparently) may also help.

all the best.