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Click to view sdewan's profile Expert
sdewan
53 posts since
Oct 16, 2007

Jan 10, 2007 12:42 PM

Yet Another "Is This ITBS?" question

I'll try to make this succinct:

Two weeks before a marathon I had an ITBS flare up on my right knee during my last long run of 21 miles. I never had a problem with my right ITB, but I had overcome a problem with my left ITB in the past so I'm pretty sure it was the same thing.

In the two weeks that I tapered I was very conservative, running a slow pace of only 4 or 6-mile runs, and stretching my ITB liberally.

Unfortunately it seemed that the closer I got to race day, the more my right knee hurt. It was never full-blown pain, just a nagging reminder that something is wrong. And I also felt as though my leg muscles were tightening: my range of motion during stretching was decreasing.

Friday night before the marathon I was sitting down for a 10-minute boat ride with my right leg outstretched and my 2-year old daughter sitting on my knee. When the ride ended, I could barely stand up. Besides the screaming pain in my right knee, I could barely bend my leg. I hobbled back to my hotel, took an anti-inflammatory, did some stretches and went to sleep.

Saturday I was much better but not 100%. I did lots of ITB stretches.

Sunday of the marathon I arrived at the staging area 2.5 hours before the start and stretched frequently. I also took 3 tylenols and wore an ITB strap during the race. Amazingly I was abled to finish the marathon without any ITB flare-ups.

Then Monday evening, when I thought I was out of the woods, I sat cross-legged on the ground for about 20 minutes with my son on my lap. Again, I could barely walk when I stood up.

Today (Wednesday), I have to say I feel pretty **** good. But I know if I tweak my knee the wrong way I'll be in pain again.

So I definitely have something wrong with my knee, but fortunately I could run without aggravating it. Sitting is another story. I'm quite certain I had an ITB flare-up during my training run, but I'm not sure about the two incidents where I tweaked it just by sitting awkwardly. And I am shocked that I was able to run 26.2 miles less than 36 hours after barely being able to walk. So maybe it was a minor case of ITBS plus a totally different injury?

Anyone have a similar experience?
Click to view Caskof43028's profile Amateur
Caskof43028
12 posts since
Dec 22, 2005
1. Jan 13, 2007 9:15 AM in response to: sdewan
I was diagnosed with ITBS about 4 months ago. I had the typical burning sensation to the bony protrusion on the outside, just below the knee cap. I have recently been able to run about 2.5 miles with no pain. I am happy in that department. I am glad to hear somebody else mention the problem with the sitting. I am not glorifying your pain by any means, but I thought maybe something was wrong with me that nobody else could relate to. I have been going through all of the ITB stretches, using the foam roller, etc. For some reason, though, if I am sitting with my right leg crossed over the other and then move just right, or wrong in this instance, I will have an ache in my knee. It is not always severe, but sometimes I feel as my knee will not support my weight. My right leg was having the problem with ITBS, but I don't know if they go hand in hand.
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