Blackroll
The Blackroll is a roll made of foam, which is used for self-massage. The principle behind it is to loosen muscle fasciae in the upper body and to prevent and treat tension, sore muscles, blockages and other orthopedic problems. It represents an alternative to professional physiotherapy and can be performed independently.
First of all, the exercises should be performed under professional guidance in order not to irritate and strain certain structures and fasciae incorrectly. Then the Blackroll can also be used for ITBS and prevents further complaints. However, they should not be the only therapy for acute pain.
If any conservative therapeutic approaches have been insufficient or ineffective, surgery may be necessary in the presence of a pronounced tractus syndrome. The goal of surgery is to remove the trigger for the pain. This can be the narrowing of the knee in the area of the tractus iliotibialis.
One can speak of a kind of “relief operation”, since the intraoperative removal of the protruding part of the bone leaves more space again and there is no pain-inducing friction between muscle and tendon tissue and bone. If, however, the bone portion is not enlarged but the iliotibial tract is shortened, the relief is achieved in one operation by incising the tractus itself. As a result, the tractus can lengthen and no longer rubs over the bony protrusion.
The incision is usually z-shaped. Furthermore, the inflamed and painful tissue can be removed during arthroscopy of the knee joint, i.e. arthroscopy of the joint. Another variant is corrective surgery for malpositions such as the bow legs. By straightening the leg axis, the symptoms of tractus syndrome can be corrected.
Risk factors
Risk factors to get a Tractussyndrom, are
- Overstrain during sports and
- One-sided movements,
- Lack of warming up before sport and
- Incorrect loading and incorrect positioning of the joints.
Tractus syndrome of the hip
Pain caused by a tractus syndrome occurs mainly in the knee area, hence the synonym “runner’s knee“. However, there can also be pain in the thigh and especially in the hip. The reason for this is the course of the tractus iliotibialis.
It originates near the hip joint on the pelvic bone and then runs along the outside of the thigh to near the knee joint on the lower leg. The tractus syndrome can be caused, among other things, by weakness or instability of the muscles that stabilize the pelvis. Under stress, if the muscular system is poorly developed, the hip sinks to the side not under stress. This results in an extreme pull on the iliotibial tract, which ultimately leads to the symptoms of tractus syndrome. Thus, the hip can be the site of pain expression in the tractus syndrome on the one hand, but on the other hand it can also be the area in which the syndrome occurs due to muscle weakness.
