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IT band syndrome: The runner's recovery roadmap

Male runner with IT band syndrome sitting on the ground.
Kim Van Deventer
Kim Van Deventer
Aug 21, 2024
Medically reviewed by
Maryke Louw
This article offers a comprehensive plan for iliotibial band syndrome recovery, focusing on the root causes and proven treatments.

IT band syndrome is the most common cause of lateral (outer) knee pain in runners.

Often, it starts as a mild annoyance that makes your runs unpleasant. But continue running through the discomfort, and you'll likely feel things worsen.

What makes IT band treatment tricky is that it can have many causes. The key to a quick and successful recovery lies in:

  • identifying what caused your case
  • and tailoring your treatment towards that.

So, let's start by looking at what the IT band does and why it gets injured.

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Evidence-based rehab plans for IT Band Syndrome
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Male runner using the treatment plan in the Exakt Health app to recover from iliotibial band syndrome.

What is the IT band?

The IT band is a thick strip of connective tissue that runs along the length of your outer thigh.

It starts at the top of your pelvis (ilium), runs over your hip joint, and attaches to the outer edge of your shin bone (tibia), just below your knee joint.

Current evidence demonstrates that your IT band:

  • Anchors to your thigh bone
  • Attaches to your hip and knee joint capsules
  • Has a fat pad beneath it that contains little nerves and blood vessels

In addition, your Tensor Fascia Latae (TFL), Glute Max, and outer thigh muscles attach to it.

Anatomy of the IT band

What does your IT band do?

Your IT band helps to keep your pelvis, hip, and knee level and in line when you’re standing or moving. Because it’s connected to your TFL and Glute Max muscles (hip muscles), it also helps to move your leg and absorb shock when you run.

What it can’t do

Although your IT band has some elastic properties, it’s not as flexible as your muscles, so it can’t stretch as they do.

What is IT band syndrome?

IT band syndrome is an overuse injury that causes pain in the area of your IT band around the outer side of your knee.

Iliotibial band syndrome is caused by irritation and inflammation in the area where the IT band attaches to the outer knee.

It's a common condition in athletes, especially distance runners. But it can happen to anyone who performs activities involving repetitive hip and knee movement, such as cycling, jumping rope, and even doing long walks.

Symptoms of IT band syndrome

How will you know if you have IT band pain?

You may have IT band syndrome if your pain:

  • Developed gradually during exercise
  • Is located over the outer side of your knee
  • Only comes on during movement, not rest
  • Happens during repetitive knee bending and straightening activities
  • Is most pronounced in the first 30 degrees of knee bending (from fully straight)
  • Can be reproduced by pressing on the painful area

In severe cases, you may also feel it with everyday activities such as walking down stairs or squatting down.

With IT band syndrome, running down hills is usually more painful than running up.
With IT band syndrome, running down hills is usually more painful than running up.

Other activities that can aggravate your IT band pain include:

  • Longer runs
  • Downhill running
  • Running on a camber (slanted surface)
  • Cycling
  • Intense stretches that compress your IT band over the side of your knee
  • Heavy pressure on the painful area (e.g., foam rolling, deep tissue massage)
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What's the source of IT band pain? (what’s being injured)

Experts currently believe that IT band syndrome is caused by the IT band pressing excessively against the bones on the outer side of your knee.

But there’s still a debate about what structure becomes injured and causes the pain you feel. A few theories exist:

1 - Injury to the IT band itself

Excessive compression of the IT band over the bone as you bend and straighten your knee may injure your IT band fibers.

What the science says: Most cases of IT band syndrome show little evidence of injury to the actual IT band fibers.

2 - Inflammation of the IT bursa

A taut IT band may compress and irritate your IT bursa (the fluid-filled sac between your IT band and thigh bone) when you bend and straighten your knee.

What the science says: IT bursas are not present in all people, and you can have IT band syndrome with or without an IT bursa.

3 - Compression of the IT fat pad

When your IT band is pulled taut, it draws closer to your thigh bone, leaving less space for the structures beneath it. As a result, it compresses the IT fat pad, which irritates its nerves and blood vessels - leading to inflammation, pain, and swelling in the area.

What the science says: Currently, experts tend to lean toward a "fat pad compression" theory, but no research has ruled any other theory out.

Does the source of IT band syndrome pain matter?

Maybe not. Here’s why: In each theory above, a taut IT band is the cause of the compression, restriction, and, ultimately, the pain. So, finding out what's causing your IT band to pull tighter is likely the more critical factor to understand.

Causes of IT band syndrome

What causes IT band syndrome?

Individual factors

These factors can lead to your hip turning or pulling inward excessively, which research shows may increase your IT band tension.
1
Weak gluteal muscles
2
Excessive foot pronation (turning in)
3
Tight hip and thigh muscles

Training factors

1
Running on a camber
...can lead to an uneven pull on your IT band.
2
Running downhill
...increases the strain on your IT band and forces your knee to work repetitively in a range where the IT band compresses most against the outer knee.
3
Unsupportive shoes
...may lead to your foot excessively pronating, which can turn your leg inward and pull on your IT band.

Fatigue and IT band syndrome

Fatigue impacts your body's natural repair processes but can also amplify poor movement patterns in your hip, which may contribute to IT band syndrome.

Fatigue can be in the form of:

  • Single session fatigue - hard sessions without proper preparation
  • Consecutive session fatigue - training on tired legs; not leaving enough rest between sessions
  • General fatigue - lack of sleep or adequate nutrition, increased stress, physical or mental exhaustion

Treatment for iliotibial band syndrome

Most IT band syndrome cases can be effectively treated with conservative treatment. Surgery is rarely necessary for IT band syndrome.

Evidence suggests that IT band syndrome responds best to a three-phase treatment approach, which includes:

IT band syndrome is one of the few sports injuries where a short course of anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen, is recommended - it helps reduce the inflammation and swelling in the injured fat pad.
IT band syndrome is one of the few sports injuries where a short course of anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen, is recommended - it helps reduce the inflammation and swelling in the injured fat pad.

Phase 1: Initial pain management

Aim

This phase helps calm the injured area and begins the healing process.

What to do

  • Avoid aggravating activities - stop running or significantly reduce your running volume
  • Take anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) - if necessary, and only those prescribed by a doctor
  • Ice or cool the injured area - ensuring you follow safe instructions
  • Massage or foam roll - only over the muscles attached to your IT band
  • Wear supportive insoles - if necessary and if they work for you (if you're uncertain, a podiatrist can assess this)
  • Use an IT band syndrome knee brace or strap - if you feel it helps for your pain, but there's no current evidence supporting their use
  • KT tape can also help relieve pain - you can find a kt taping technique for iliotibial band syndrome here

What to avoid

  • Corticosteroid injections - can reduce your pain in the short term but may have adverse effects on your recovery in the long-term
  • Strong massage or pressure over the injured area - foam rolling or deep tissue massage over your painful IT band area can worsen your injury
Icing the injured area can help reduce the inflammation and swelling more quickly.
Icing the injured area can help reduce the inflammation and swelling more quickly.

The Exakt Health app guides you through this process step by step. The app, designed with expert physical therapists, offers personalized exercises and robust monitoring tools that help you determine your knee's load tolerance and track your recovery progress.

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Evidence-based rehab plans for IT Band Syndrome
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Female runner using the Exakt Health app to treat her IT band syndrome.

Phase 2: Strength and control exercises

Aim

This phase helps restore your strength and mobility as your injury gradually recovers. It can help correct the underlying causes of your injury, get you back to running pain-free, and prevent future injuries.

What to do

  • Graded strengthening and movement control exercises - help improve your hip, knee, and ankle muscles' load-bearing capacity and your ability to control them
  • Stretching exercises of the muscles attached to your IT band - help reduce tension in the muscles and their pull on your IT band

You can find more detailed information about what exercises are best for IT band recovery and how to introduce them into your rehab plan here.

It's usually best to start with exercises that avoid loading your knee directly (like the Clam). Once your pain has settled, you can slowly transition to more challenging exercises that resemble the running motion.
It's usually best to start with exercises that avoid loading your knee directly (like the Clam). Once your pain has settled, you can slowly transition to more challenging exercises that resemble the running motion.

What to avoid

  • Starting at the wrong strength and control level for you
  • Progressing the intensity of your exercises too soon
  • Vigorous stretching that aggravates your pain

Phase 3: Return to running training

Aim

This phase helps optimize your movement and training technique to reduce the strain on your IT band. It also prepares your body for your specific running demands so you can return to running safely.

What to do

  • Phased return to running program - gradually and safely increases your running volume and intensity
  • Skill development - trains different movement patterns, such as plyometric or agility drills
  • Running technique training - improves your running technique to reduce the strain on your IT band

You can read more about how to safely get back to running after injury here.

What to avoid

  • Pushing through extreme levels of discomfort (some slight discomfort is OK during rehab, but it's crucial to work within limits safe for you)
  • Ramping up your running distance too quickly
  • Increasing your running intensity too quickly
  • Not allowing enough recovery time between runs

The IT band syndrome rehab plan in the Exakt Health app helps you find your baseline level of discomfort and teaches you to monitor changes and adjust your training appropriately. It also includes advice on how to adapt your running technique to reduce the strain on your IT band.

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Female runner using the treatment plan for iliotibial pain syndrome in the Exakt Health app to guide her running.

What else can help treat IT band syndrome?

1
First-line treatment
IT band syndrome should initially always be treated conservatively, using the abovementioned treatments. Sometimes IT band pain doesn’t respond to rest and rehabilitation as well as expected, and anti-inflammatory medications may not be enough to reduce your pain to get started with exercises that will help. In that case, the second line of treatment may be necessary.
2
Second-line treatment
Doctors may prescribe corticosteroid injections when conservative treatment isn't successful or possible. These ultrasound-guided injections may help reduce your pain, but they're not intended as a standalone treatment.
3
The third line of treatment
A doctor may recommend surgery for IT band syndrome if your symptoms are severe and have not improved after at least 6 months of corticosteroid injections combined with consistent rehabilitation.

IT band syndrome recovery time

How long does it take to recover from IT band syndrome?

IT band syndrome recovery usually takes around 6 to 12 weeks with conservative treatment, but this timeline depends on:

  • The severity of your injury
  • How quickly you started with proper treatment
  • Your body's natural healing ability

If your injury is severe or you’ve tried to train through the pain for a long time, recovery will likely take longer than 12 weeks.

Can you prevent IT band syndrome?

IT band syndrome is preventable. The best ways to ensure it doesn't happen are to:

  • Do regular strength and mobility training
  • Avoid sudden increases in your running training volume and intensity
  • Vary the surfaces your train on
  • Wear running shoes that give you proper support (tailored to your needs)
More about IT band syndrome

Conclusion

For runners, iliotibial band syndrome can be a frustrating injury to treat.

Now that you know what causes IT band syndrome and how to address it properly, you’ll be on the right track with your recovery and can start confidently setting your future running goals again.

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Female runner using the Exakt Health app to recover from IT band syndrome.
Kim Van Deventer
Kim Van Deventer
Kim Van Deventer is a freelance healthcare writer and digital content strategist for healthcare businesses and medical content agencies. She has a BSc in Physiotherapy and worked as a physiotherapist for more than 14 years, specialising in sports injury rehabilitation, chronic pain management, and women's health. Kim combines her clinical experience and digital marketing skills to create relevant and helpful content that improves patients' lives.
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