Where and What is the IT Band?

The IT band is made of an elastic connective tissue called fascia. It attaches at the hip bone and to some of the gluteal muscles and runs down the side of your leg where it attaches just below the knee. 

How Do I Know if That’s My Problem?

The IT Band can often cause hip or knee pain, or both. It’s common in runners, and is one of the most common causes of lateral knee pain. To figure out if the IT band is the source of your discomfort, you can start by feeling your own IT band. You can see if it feels tighter on one side than the other, or if touching along the outside of your leg is painful. You can also do a stretch against a wall to see if that creates or increases your pain. To do the stretch, stand next to a wall with the affected side closest to the wall. Then bring the unaffected leg in front, and push the affected hip out towards the wall. If any of this creates or intensifies your symptoms, you may have IT band pain.

Dry Needling for IT Band Pain.

So how can we treat IT band pain? One way is through physical therapy including dry needling. Dry needling has been shown to create clinically relevant and persistent benefits for those with chronic hip and knee pain. For the IT band in particular, we often use several needles, starting at the hip joint, and then down the length of the IT band to relieve symptoms. Studies show that needling, along with other stretches and strengthening done in physical therapy, can improve pain and functional mobility for those with lateral hip pain.

Let Us Help YOU!

Not sure if your IT band is what’s causing your discomfort? No problem! Contact our team here at Imagine Physical Therapy where we can determine if you have IT Band pain, or if there is some other issue that we can fix for you. 

References:

1. Witt CM, Jena S, Brinkhaus B, Liecker B, Wegscheider K, Willich SN. Acupuncture in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip: a randomized, controlled trial with an additional nonrandomized arm. Arthritis Rheum. 2006;54(11):3485-93.
2. Pavkovich R. Effectiveness of Dry Needling, Stretching, and Strengthening to Reduce Pain and Improve Function in Subjects with Chronic Lateral Hip and Thigh Pain: a Retrospective Case Series. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2015;10(4):540-51.