Iliotibial Band tight

[Isabella]

[Librarygirl]

Hey Isabella,

I'm interested to get some useful info too about ITB problems - Up until now it's just been road riding with few problems apart from a little tenderness along the thigh when pressed and the occasional outer knee soreness when walking, but I've started mountain biking and am getting more pain and weakness from my tight ITBs. Burning pains on the outside of my knee when spending time out of the saddle on singletrack and soreness along the side of thighs, up to hip. I invested in a knobbly roller supposed to be specially for ITB from a massage therapist today - boy it's exquisitely painful! Hope the extreme tenderness will ease soon and that it will help.

Linda.

[Isabella]

yeah when I first started using the roller it was like the most painful thing ever but as the ITB gets looser it will hurt less. Be sure to stretch the muscles around the ITB also as they will get tight from trying to compensate

[eeksll]

sounds like your trying everything and going to the professionals, what about a cycling specific physio who also looks at your bike fit.
Also see if you can find a physio who will look at your biomechanics and see if something particular needs strengthening. It did not help me but YMMV.

I am personally interested in the cleats thats have no float, I find my ITB flares most when I go for rides where I stand and ride, I THINK this is because when I do this my feet turn a little. All my own theory nothing to back it up ...

Also I would have thought knots would be expected after a bit of a layoff. I am not sure there is the holy grail of being about to exercise and not stretching, if there is I would also like to know about it !!!!

My tip for the foam roller, to put it on the one spot for 30 seconds and try as hard as you can to relax the muscle. As opposed to just rolling over the muscle.

[Isabella]

Hmmm I have thought the same ting about cleats with no floats, also all my own theory.

The deep tissue has so far helped my and I'm working on my inner thigh muscles and glutes as there is an imbalance here. whether this helps my ITB when I get back on the bike remains to be seen ....

[mikesbytes]

I use cleats with no float, what the do is keep my feet in alignment. If you consider that alignment is your issue and decide to go for zero float, then you need them to be setup really carefully as float allows tolerance on incorrect setup.

eeksll I don't know where you live, so I cannot provide advice on where to get zero float cleats setup.

Isabella we have a jig for setting up cleats at the track, you need someone like Lindsay or myself to set them up for you.

[ranget@bigpond.com]

go to ebay an type in FOAM ROLLER , they are the proper pysio type about 23$ from au every cyclist should have one

[Isabella]

I don't think incorrect setup is the root of my prob;em but I think it adds to it as I'm sure I don't have my cleats adjusted correctly. I think I'll purchase some zero float cleats and see how I go on the jig at some point

[BarryTas]

Isabella

my ITB is good for now. But i suggest to go to a sports physiotherapist who know about cycling and cyclists and get both your self and and your bike set up checked.

[Wayfarer]

Honestly... You dont need a professional to tell you that you need to stretch a tight muscle. Sure rollers and balls are heaps good, but if your seat's too high or you're plain not stretching out the muscle, don't expect a proper recovery..

eeksll, your cleats likely have nothing to do with the problem, and since you have nothing to compare it to, it'd be silly to buy zero floats Your feet take a natural gait when you stand up anyway, so the few degrees of float is not so likely to cause the inflammation.. standing up, on the other hand, would place considerable strain through that area; are you still keeping a high cadence while smashing hills?

I don't think incorrect setup is the root of my prob;em but I think it adds to it as I'm sure I don't have my cleats adjusted correctly. I think I'll purchase some zero float cleats and see how I go on the jig at some point

err.. that'd be the worst possible thing you can do. Kinda like saying 'my foot hurts, maybe injecting methadone will help'. Zero float cleats will destroy your body if they aren't set up correctly; correct alignment is the only thing you need. If your foot feels natural on the pedal (ie, not pointed in or out more than you would in normal shoes), you dont need to worry.

[mikesbytes]

When clipless pedals were first brought out, the cleats were zero float. There was a dramatic increase in knee problems caused by incorrect cleat setup. Initially Look and other manufactures brought out pedals with built in adjustable float and later the float was built into the cleats. However some float cleat designs also permit heal rotation and for some that meant that their heals are not pointing where they would like them to point.

In my case I was turning my left heal inwards which was causing my left knee to point outwards. So I corrected it by replacing my red look delta cleats with black zero float ones, which set my heals straight. An incidental advantage I found was that there was greater contact between the shoe and the pedal, it gave a feeling of better power transmission, which I assume it didn't but it felt that way. Nowadays I don't actually need the zero float cleats, but I still prefer the feel of them.

Now I should point out that the solution above only worked with look delta zero float cleats. I also have spd zero float cleats which are virtually impossible to purchase and while the float is missing, they still allow rotation and that can be seen in my right heal which is slightly rotated inwards, a minor amount, nothing like what I use to have with the left heal.

As per whether one should get zero float cleats or not, one should only get them if they have access to someone who can set them up correctly, which Isabella does. There is nothing wrong with zero float cleats if they are setup correctly.

[eeksll]

standing up, on the other hand, would place considerable strain through that area; are you still keeping a high cadence while smashing hills?

Yes, the extra strain through the area, while riding hard, being the cause of the issue and not the foot movement has not escaped my thoughts. However I also do notice the foot twisting when under this sort of stress and not twisting when riding seated. So I don't know, I kinda just threw the variable which I had some control over out there ...

In terms of standing and riding its really only been the last few months where I have found a rhythm where I have been able stand and ride for a "lengthy" distance without blowing up and I still dont think its at my usual sitting cadence. Standing and riding seems to be a very energy draining position for me so I only do it when I really have too e.g. going up a hill and already in lowest gear ... high cadence is not an option I have at this point.

[mikesbytes]

Standing uses the muscles quite differently. Most riders climb quicker seated, though it doesn't feel like you are. Standing for short periods of time is popular amongst rider as it gives a small rest before going back to the seated climbing.

[Wayfarer]

Hey Mike, i completely agree.. I think i may have missed the part where she said she had access to a fitter; I thought she was just buying them and hoping for the best

Standing and riding uses a fair bit more energy than seated riding, and puts considerably more strain through your legs. I guess being on the granny gear, it's hard to not stand up... One easy solution may be to move forward on the seat, so you're not actually standing, but uncomfortably forward on the seat. I do this when taking on long, medium-ish steep hills where it's impractical to stand, but impossible to sit normally
Not a be all and end all solution by any chance, but perhaps something new to try..

[eeksll]

A workmate lent me his speedplay pedals and carbon soled shoes. I had it dialled to float (ie not no float) Went for my first longish ride today up my usual hills and I am not having my usual twinge of ITB at the moment. FYI the float on speedplays are not like the float on SPDs.

I have a few other little "niggles", but I participate in a few different types of sport so a direct correlation to the new pedals is impossible to tell.

Slightly off topic, the speedplay cleats are already wearing through (need to check with my mate to see how many kms its done but I understood not many) which is a disappointment.