# Foam Roller It Band Tips??



## rydbyk (Oct 13, 2009)

Anyone have luck with the foam roller?

A. How much time each foam roller session?
B. How many times a day?
C. How long till you saw dramatic improvement?
D. Methods that worked better than others....??

Thanks!!


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## xcguy (Apr 18, 2004)

rydbyk said:


> Anyone have luck with the foam roller?
> 
> A. How much time each foam roller session?
> B. How many times a day?
> ...


We have two types of rollers at my gym, hard and not so hard. I started with the hard and the pain was eye opening when I found the right spot. I went with the softer and less pain meant I wanted to do it more. Only one session a day.

Find where a nice tasty painful lump is and hold the pain for about 20-30 seconds. You might find two or three spots, only you can tell. Just keep telling yourself that pain is your friend, in this case. You're not really doing yourself harm, although it can hurt like a sum*****.

I'd say give it a coupla months. Follow your roller session with ITB stretches. I finally got to the point that the painful spots were gone. Woo hoo!


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## jeffscott (May 10, 2006)

rydbyk said:


> Anyone have luck with the foam roller?
> 
> A. How much time each foam roller session?
> B. How many times a day?
> ...


http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/self-myofascial-release.html

Most do it way to fast you can take 5 minutes a side easily...

I go to fast once a day maybe ten rolls 2 minutes a leg...

Improvement happens really quickly...but that just takes the "edge off" for sustained benefit it is frequent and long term.

Stop when you get to a painful trigger point, and hold for a minute or so.

Remember this is not an exercise per se, but a message as in myofacial release....


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## rydbyk (Oct 13, 2009)

jeffscott said:


> http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/self-myofascial-release.html
> 
> Most do it way to fast you can take 5 minutes a side easily...
> 
> ...


Great link! Funny animations...


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## civil (Feb 13, 2008)

rydbyk said:


> Anyone have luck with the foam roller?
> 
> A. How much time each foam roller session?
> B. How many times a day?
> ...


I was off the bike for a couple of months doing physio that wasn't working.

As soon as I started rolling I saw a huge improvement.

A. I started with around 3-5 minutes
B. 3-5 times a day
C. Almost immediately
D. I actually switched from foam roller, to a hard plastic waterbottle as I wanted something firmer, and it hurt.....but the good kind of hurt 

Good luck!


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## rydbyk (Oct 13, 2009)

Holy f'n assmonkey! This foam roller thing kills! The entire side of the leg from hip to knee absolutely kills when I roll on it. I guess it means it is working??

Where exactly is the IT band on the side? Like I said, the entire side of my leg from hip to knee hurts on the roller, but ideally I should be isolating the IT band correct?


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## Bodie6 (Sep 17, 2009)

*Itb*

Before I got seriously into mountain biking, I was (and still am) a serious runner. I ran the Buffalo marathon last summer, and I've placed first or second in my age group in most 5k-10k races. In March 2009, I had a terrible case of ITBS. It is most common in runners. The IT band begins at the gluteus medius muscle and extends down to the outside of the knee cap. Below, I provide a detailed account on how I got rid of my ITB problems. Granted, it still flares up every now and then, but it's nothing like how it was before.

First, you'll want to start with the Walt Reynolds exercise (link below). I did it three or four times a day for three weeks (with minimal running during that time). I continue to do the exercise once or twice a day, and I will continue to perform the exercise indefinitely. I also bought a strap for my knee; it's a McDavid strap (link below) that was designed for jumper's knee (patellar tendon). However, rather than placing it below the knee, I just put the cushioned support above the knee so that the cushion was over my itb. I go the the gym three times a week, and I took extra time to work my hips and gluteus medius. I used the hip abductor and the hip flexor machines. Personally, I believe that these exercises sped up my recovery time; since the itb begins at hip, then it is extremely important to strengthen the hip and gluteus muscles. And, of course, I did all of the stretches that are aimed at the itb. Whether or not the itb actually gets stretched is not important in my mind; rather, I came to realize how little stretching I did before my itb pain, and after stretching for five-six weeks, I feel better all around. Also, since I sleep on my right side, I put a pillow between my knees. My itb was in my left knee, and I did my best to refrain from sleeping on my left side. By putting a pillow between my knees, my left knee never dipped below my belly button, and my left hip remained level, which removed any strain on my itb. I have used a foam roller, and it helps tremendously. The two most important things, however, is the Walt Reynolds Exercise and the McDavid strap.

Walt Reynolds: http://onemillionruns.blogspot.com/2006/10/walt-reynolds-itb-special.html
McDavid Strap: http://www.mcdavidusa.com/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=23&DEPARTMENT_ID=292

Here's what I did not do:
I never went to a PT or a cairopractor. From what I've read on this message board, most PT's offer the same advice that can be found online. I rarely iced my itb.

I'm sure that I left a couple things out, but the above regiment worked quite well. If anyone has a question, then please let me know. Obviously, my suggestions are merely subjective, and they might not work for everyone. If you want further information on how to "cure" the ITB issues, then there is a huge forum located at this site: http://www.coolrunning.com.au/forums/index.php?showtopic=18774

If you have any questions, then let me know. Good Luck!!


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## xcguy (Apr 18, 2004)

rydbyk said:


> Holy f'n assmonkey! This foam roller thing kills! The entire side of the leg from hip to knee absolutely kills when I roll on it. I guess it means it is working??
> 
> Where exactly is the IT band on the side? Like I said, the entire side of my leg from hip to knee hurts on the roller, but ideally I should be isolating the IT band correct?


Yeah, hurts don't it? It's hard to believe that you're not hurting yourself more, it hurts so much. Try using a softer roller for now. Roll on the side of your thigh, start near your hip, just pause for awhile on your way down. When I first did it I was using a real hard roller and I think my exact words were "Fu!! fu!! fu!! this hurts!! Is it supposed to hurt like this? Fu!!" The guy showing me how to do it just smiled. :skep:


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## pwrtrainer (Oct 23, 2005)

The IT band is a very thick piece of connective tissue that is difficult if not impossible to stretch. the reason you feel pain in your ITB is because the muscles are being crushed on your femur. Strengthen the glute med on each side with the exercises shown in the link above and it will do a better job of holding your pelvis stable. The foam roller is great for muscles, but fascia, it is pretty worthless. The IT is just too thick and strong.


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