Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

I have had this ITB problem since beginning of year. I have gone to 2 different physios and ITB is still flaring up now and then( mostly after 60k-70k ride).
And Im already doing alot strecthcing and working on my glute muscle.
Do i have a bad bikefit or just a poor biomechanic?

[i'm not a physio but] it's not just stretching and glute work that will fix it, you also need to work on strengthening and stabilising the knee itself - my (rather excellent) physio has me doing crab walks with my knees tied together by bands, lots of stability exercises, one legged squats on the bad knee (and yes they are as excruciating as you think they're going to be to start with!) etc etc as well as lots of foam rolling, as well as glute, hip and core work.

A 'proper' bike fit is well worth the money, but is not going to cure ITB.

I have suffered from ITB (and lower back pain) for as long as I can remember but regular physio sessions have led to me being completely pain free in both of those areas.

Hope you can get it sorted

fab at forty wrote:[i'm not a physio but] it's not just stretching and glute work that will fix it, you also need to work on strengthening and stabilising the knee itself - my (rather excellent) physio has me doing crab walks with my knees tied together by bands, lots of stability exercises, one legged squats on the bad knee (and yes they are as excruciating as you think they're going to be to start with!) etc etc as well as lots of foam rolling, as well as glute, hip and core work.

A 'proper' bike fit is well worth the money, but is not going to cure ITB.

I have suffered from ITB (and lower back pain) for as long as I can remember but regular physio sessions have led to me being completely pain free in both of those areas.

Hope you can get it sorted

Good advice.

With the bikefit, it depends on ririz's mechanics, if his mechanics are ok and fit is bad it will cure it. If he has poor mechanics and an OK fit it may not be as effective. Another thing to consider is training load. It might be an idea to ease off for a bit, give it some time to heal a bit.

I asked this in my other thread but since that thread is old news I'll ask here.

When you guys stretch your itb do you also feel tightness/pain/discomfort on the inside of your knee. I ask because I only just started stretching my itb and it seems to hurt the inside of my knee.

I also can't sit cross legged for the same reason.

ozstriker wrote:I asked this in my other thread but since that thread is old news I'll ask here.

When you guys stretch your itb do you also feel tightness/pain/discomfort on the inside of your knee. I ask because I only just started stretching my itb and it seems to hurt the inside of my knee.

I also can't sit cross legged for the same reason.

I'd say no, but I can't quite visualise where the "inside of my knee" is. What sort of stretch are you doing.

ririz wrote:I have had this ITB problem since beginning of year. I have gone to 2 different physios and ITB is still flaring up now and then( mostly after 60k-70k ride).
And Im already doing alot strecthcing and working on my glute muscle.
Do i have a bad bikefit or just a poor biomechanic?

I have suffered ITB for a while and from what I read/google, I think its caused by imbalance of muscle strengths. Its a matter of finding which ones . I think physios just pass on the most common causes first and over time might be able to narrow down to one that fixes you.

eeksll wrote:ozstriker wrote:I asked this in my other thread but since that thread is old news I'll ask here. When you guys stretch your itb do you also feel tightness/pain/discomfort on the inside of your knee. I ask because I only just started stretching my itb and it seems to hurt the inside of my knee. I also can't sit cross legged for the same reason.

No, mine is just outside of knee that i can really feel it

And Yea my physio keeps telling me that my hip is the problem(not strong enough) and i've been doing alot of those one leg squats
He says just keep riding regularly and take voltaren when it flares up and do those workouts for my glutes and knees

I had very bad ITB pain after a number of longer rides last christmas holidays. I went to the physio and got some stretches and exercises which helped but the final solution was a bike fit from Steve Hogg. My seat was too high and cleats needed proper alignment, now I can ride as far as my body has fuel for without any pain (and I've been slack and not done the stretches or exercises for ages).

buy a physio roller - hello pain - but good for the ITB

+1 Roller. I use a rumble roller (blue).

could be alignment, try to stretch out your glutes really well, than foam roll. I'd be inclined to also get your hips checked, see if your alignment there is out, try strappin your knees together when laying down if you do find your hips are out

+1 for blue roller and stretching. My physio also said 'keep riding', don't do too may hills just yet, but get some sprint strength riding into my rides.

I also had an ultrasound on my hip/groin area which showed up some tendinitis at the top of the thigh where it meets the hip, as well as some arthritis in the hip itself.

Another great way to sort this out is to get in a pool and do 30-45 mins of walking and easy stretching ... I am happily surprised that this is really reducing my pain levels.