ITBS, runner’s knee, tractus syndrome – whatever the name may be, it is a dreaded symptom of overstrain for every runner. The Iliotibial Ligament Syndrome, ITBS for short, describes a problem of the strong tendon ligament on the outer thigh. For a better understanding an explanation of the term: the ilium is a part of the pelvic bone, the tibia is the tibia of the tibia bones in the lower leg.
The ilio-tibial ligament is now a strong ligament (in Latin Tractus Iliotibialis), which runs from one bone described to another. Its attachment is just below the outer side of the knee on the shin bone. A much more common name in the vernacular for ITBS is the runner’s knee.
Duration
According to the classic wound healing process of tissues in our body, an inflammatory phase lasts up to one week. The “repair” of fibers for a few more weeks – even if the pain has subsided, the structures are still not fully resilient! In addition, tendon tissue has a worse blood supply than muscle tissue, for example, which further prolongs the entire healing process. If absolutely no more pain is felt when running and the cause is found and treated, you can slowly start training again. Up to this point, several months can pass, which can be used to build up the muscles needed for healthy running through specific exercises.
Which sports are suitable?
Particularly suitable after an iliotibial ligament syndrome are sports that do not exert one-sided stress and high biomechanical loads on the iliotibial ligament and the knee joint. The following has proven to be effective
- Yoga, because all movements are performed slowly and to the end of the range of motion
- Water gymnastics is also very well suited because the buoyancy and water resistance usually prevent overloading and protect osseous and articular structures.
- The Chinese Tai-Chi is effective in multiple ways due to the physiological movement sequences and concentrated as well as slow execution. The natural movements prevent over-irritation of the muscle-tendon apparatus.
The mental concentration helps to find a healthy balance between tension and relaxation. The slow execution of the individual movement sequences is to be regarded as stretching exercise
- Therapeutic climbing can be interesting as an alternative, because although there is a certain amount of stress on the iliotibial ligament and the knee joint, it is very low-frequency and slow. In addition, the climber usually always has three points of support, so that the entire body weight never acts on one joint. The precision of the execution and the technique is the main focus.
