Have you ever heard of iliotibial bands? No, I'd never heard of them either.
Do you have iliotibial bands? I didn't know I had any until today.
Iliotibial bands are huge tissue bands that run from the outside of the pelvis , over the hip and knee and attach just below the knee. It's one of the bigger tissues in the body and keeps your knee in alignment.
I found out that I have one of these, well, actually two as you have a band on both legs. I began having pain in my hip, knee and the muscles from my hip to the knee. At first the pain was intermittent and not too severe. It's worse at night and is not very noticeable in the day time.
Iliotibial syndrome is caused by overuse of the tissue. Many athletes and runners have iliotibial syndrome.
So to treat this syndrome you have to give it some rest. There are many stretches that can be used. Google iliotibial stretch and you'll find many websites with recommended stretches. treatment takes a long time and you have to be patient.
I got my problem when I first raked grass this spring. I could feel the discomfort that day. I rake my grass twice so that I get rid of the thatch and then the grass has a better chance to start growing. I then proceeded to dig my garden by hand with the fork. By the time I'd finished these projects, I was in trouble.
So I will be on good behavior for the next while trying to rest and stretch so the the iliotibial band recovers.
