Just got back into rowing a couple of weeks ago...I'm pretty sure it's not a technique problem as I used to row competitively, but it HAS been a long time and I maybe be doing something small to cause this discomfort (it isn't bad enough to call it "pain"). I've been rowing through it with it not getting any worse (it generally doesn't bother me when I am on the erg, I feel it the next morning), so I'm not sure if I am just over training and expecting too much of my body too soon? Any advice on how to deal with this is welcome.
(stats...I am a 25 y/o 115 lbs female, 5'5", doing around 10,000 a day with interval training mixed in)
IT band/lateral knee discomfort
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nefertiti1102
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Dreadnought
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IT Band
No responses to this question? It must not be a significant problem with rowers.
I never had any problems with IT band until recently. Over the last two weeks I increased my running from 2-3 days/week to about 5days/week.
I gradually developed the characteristic lat knee pain which was insiduous in onset. Minimal at first, but on my last run, I had to stop after about 2 miles. Running is out of the question for now, and i plan to give it a rest for about 2-4 weeks.
I am now motivated to get back into erging, since I have recovered from the wrist pain that took me out earlier this year.
Is there any reason to avoid rowing at this point? Can rowing make the IT band pain worse? Should I wait a few weeks before starting up with the erg?
I never had any problems with IT band until recently. Over the last two weeks I increased my running from 2-3 days/week to about 5days/week.
I gradually developed the characteristic lat knee pain which was insiduous in onset. Minimal at first, but on my last run, I had to stop after about 2 miles. Running is out of the question for now, and i plan to give it a rest for about 2-4 weeks.
I am now motivated to get back into erging, since I have recovered from the wrist pain that took me out earlier this year.
Is there any reason to avoid rowing at this point? Can rowing make the IT band pain worse? Should I wait a few weeks before starting up with the erg?
I'm new to working out on the erg, but IT band injury is something with which I'm all too familiar, unfortunately.
Had a nagging ITB overtraining injury since training for triathalons over a decade ago. I went through over 6 months of physical therapy and still am bothered occasionally by it. There are a couple things that help besides the obvious icing the injury when it flairs up (I now ice after every workout as a preventative whether it hurts or not, but your nowhere near that step). First is stretches. Second is the use of foam rollers to release tension in the IT band and surrounding soft tissue. Third is making sure that you address any muscular imbalances which might be contributing to the injury or its impact on the knee.
On stretches, runners are prone to this injury and there are several good sites that have stretches to help. Running Times had a short article from 2004 that is on their online site: runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=6099 (they don't let us new users use urls to create a link or even spell them out completely, so you'll have cut an paste them in your browser manually and add anything from the parentheses I list to make the link complete). You can see some of the same, as well as some assisted stretches at the following site: nismat.org/ptcor/itb_stretch/ (add three w's before the nismat.org to get the web link). Here's a good one from Runner's World: runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-285--11642-0,00.html (again, add 3 w's before runnersworld.com). I also like the piriformis muscle stretch to reduce tension in my ITB, which you can see at the following site: kneeguru.co.uk/html/gym/general/middle/piriformis_stretch.html (again, add the 3 www's to complete the link- man this is a pain).
Foam rollers can be great for loosening tight soft tissue in ways that stretching can't. If your IT band is really tight, this can be a bit painful at first and may cause things to get a bit more inflamed in the day or two following your first use (at least that was my experience). There are a number of companies selling these, and they are not expensive. I got mine from Perform Better, and it came with fairly detailed instructions including for loosening the IT band. I'm sure that other brands will be fine as well. Just google "foam rollers" and you'll get a large number of options.
Third is to consider any muscular imbalances. Sometimes you can see something yourself once you know to look. But you may want to have a physical therapist go over you for insurance. You'll want to look at the hip an lower back, as well as the knee and thigh. For instance, I'm a bit compressed in my lower spine on the side of my injury which may be contributing to my problem. Probably nothing I can do about this, but my vastus medialis (the tear drop shaped muscle on the inside of the front thigh right at the knee) was severely atrophied which I've been able to work on. We weren't sure if the atrophy was caused by or helped cause my ITB problems, but it meant it caused my patella to track wrong as the overly tight ITB overpowered the weak vastus medialis. It took years to figure out an effective remedy for this, as the therapist's suggested exercises didn't have much effect. Deep squatting (basically getting your ass to the floor, which has gotten an undue bad wrap) as was just about the only thing that has rebuilt this muscle sufficiently. Hopefully, your problem will disappear with a bit of stretching and rollers, but long-term it doesn't hurt to look for something like this to help make sure you have years of healthy training ahead of you.
Just for completeness, I've heard of people using or had done (1) electro-stimulation to exhaust the tissue and get it to release; (2) accupuncture; (3) massage therapy; (4) chiropractic treatments; and (5) having a doctor use a needling trigger points with lidocane. Again, given the newness of the injury and your description as not really pain, I can't imagine it coming to this (& you'd want to consult a sports medicine physician or orthopedist well before you get to this stage) but at least you know there are other possible therapies as well.
Good luck.
Dave
Had a nagging ITB overtraining injury since training for triathalons over a decade ago. I went through over 6 months of physical therapy and still am bothered occasionally by it. There are a couple things that help besides the obvious icing the injury when it flairs up (I now ice after every workout as a preventative whether it hurts or not, but your nowhere near that step). First is stretches. Second is the use of foam rollers to release tension in the IT band and surrounding soft tissue. Third is making sure that you address any muscular imbalances which might be contributing to the injury or its impact on the knee.
On stretches, runners are prone to this injury and there are several good sites that have stretches to help. Running Times had a short article from 2004 that is on their online site: runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=6099 (they don't let us new users use urls to create a link or even spell them out completely, so you'll have cut an paste them in your browser manually and add anything from the parentheses I list to make the link complete). You can see some of the same, as well as some assisted stretches at the following site: nismat.org/ptcor/itb_stretch/ (add three w's before the nismat.org to get the web link). Here's a good one from Runner's World: runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-241-285--11642-0,00.html (again, add 3 w's before runnersworld.com). I also like the piriformis muscle stretch to reduce tension in my ITB, which you can see at the following site: kneeguru.co.uk/html/gym/general/middle/piriformis_stretch.html (again, add the 3 www's to complete the link- man this is a pain).
Foam rollers can be great for loosening tight soft tissue in ways that stretching can't. If your IT band is really tight, this can be a bit painful at first and may cause things to get a bit more inflamed in the day or two following your first use (at least that was my experience). There are a number of companies selling these, and they are not expensive. I got mine from Perform Better, and it came with fairly detailed instructions including for loosening the IT band. I'm sure that other brands will be fine as well. Just google "foam rollers" and you'll get a large number of options.
Third is to consider any muscular imbalances. Sometimes you can see something yourself once you know to look. But you may want to have a physical therapist go over you for insurance. You'll want to look at the hip an lower back, as well as the knee and thigh. For instance, I'm a bit compressed in my lower spine on the side of my injury which may be contributing to my problem. Probably nothing I can do about this, but my vastus medialis (the tear drop shaped muscle on the inside of the front thigh right at the knee) was severely atrophied which I've been able to work on. We weren't sure if the atrophy was caused by or helped cause my ITB problems, but it meant it caused my patella to track wrong as the overly tight ITB overpowered the weak vastus medialis. It took years to figure out an effective remedy for this, as the therapist's suggested exercises didn't have much effect. Deep squatting (basically getting your ass to the floor, which has gotten an undue bad wrap) as was just about the only thing that has rebuilt this muscle sufficiently. Hopefully, your problem will disappear with a bit of stretching and rollers, but long-term it doesn't hurt to look for something like this to help make sure you have years of healthy training ahead of you.
Just for completeness, I've heard of people using or had done (1) electro-stimulation to exhaust the tissue and get it to release; (2) accupuncture; (3) massage therapy; (4) chiropractic treatments; and (5) having a doctor use a needling trigger points with lidocane. Again, given the newness of the injury and your description as not really pain, I can't imagine it coming to this (& you'd want to consult a sports medicine physician or orthopedist well before you get to this stage) but at least you know there are other possible therapies as well.
Good luck.
Dave