ITS Back...

After my Tuesday morning run I was tired, sweaty, and in pain. Needless to say I was not a happy camper. That nagging stabby knee pain was back. The culprit, illitobial band syndrome (ITS). If you're not a runner you may not know what or where your illitobial band is. The IT band is a thick fibrous band that runs from your hip down the side of your leg and meets the knee. When this band becomes irritated and inflamed it causes friction along the outer knee resulting in pain.

I spent the first third of the year in physical therapy working to get back on the road. I was fortunate to find a great physical therapist and fellow runner who was able to get me back on my feet. For weeks and weeks I did my strengthening exercises religiously and had great results. After getting back into marathon training and having no pain I was lulled into a false sense of security. It wasn't long before I convinced myself that I didn't need to keep up with them. Last week I started to get "little twinges" here and there. I immediately started my strengthening exercises again but it was too late.

Luckily I learned my lesson and have taken immediate action to address my injury. Last time around I was stubborn and tried to ignore my pain and continued to train. I was so fixated on getting my running workouts in that I jeopardized my health and made my injury worse resulting in a much longer recovery. I'm hoping with a few days rest, ice, and massage I will be back to normal soon and back on track.