Knee Pain

Attention Runners!! Especially those with knee pain. Do you even roll bro? But seriously, stretching is essential for the muscles (hamstrings, quads, calves), but most knee pain comes from the ITB (Iliotibial Band) which is not muscle, it’s a ligament.

The ITB or Iliotibial Band is a very large ligament that attaches from the outside of your hip to the outside of your knee. When the ITB is tight, it can pull the patella laterally (towards the outside of your leg), contributing to knee pain while running. The ITB gets tight due to many different causes such as wearing worn down running shoes, running too many miles, or running downhill or on banked surfaces.

While there are common ITB stretches, the “foam roller” has been found to be a very effective technique to roll out the tightness in the ITB. Patients with this diagnosis can also benefit from physical therapy to manually stretch and massage the band, along with strengthening the muscles of the lower extremity that are found to be weakened.

Call the diagnosis whatever you want, ITB syndrome, Patella Femoral Pain Syndrome, PFPS, Jumper’s Knee, Runner’s Knee), either way, you need to use a foam roller before and after every run!