tricharlotte.com aches and pains page
Below are good words of advice from fellow runners. Note this is advice only, if it hurts a lot you better see your own doctor! IOW, we take absolutely no responsibility for anything written here. But it might help. Your call.
ITB (from Barbara Mack 7/15/08)
Technically, ITB Friction Syndrome refers to problems only at the knee. Pain and/or snapping as the ITB moves over the greater trochanter (the point of your hip) is really a bursitis. Both are very common - about 5% of runners will have ITB Syndrome over the course of their running careers. Downhill running, worn out shoes, increases in training volume or speed, and deficiency in quad strength are predisposing factors.
Biomechanics - for the knee ITP: the edge of your ITB rubs against the outside of the bottom of your femur where the femur connects with the tibia. This friction is maximal at footstrike. The lower the angle of the knee at footstrike, the more tension on the ITB: downhill running means straighter leg, tighter band. (as opposed to say, sprinters, bent knee = higher angle = looser band)
As to the pathology, there is debate - may be thickened ITB, tight ITB - or both - which came first and did one cause the other ... either way there is inflammation. Treatment for inflammation is as boring as always. Rest, Ice, Compression (but not for the hip!), and Elevation, and aspirin or ibuprofen or whatever NSAID you have.
So, with ice and advil and all the other great things medical science has to offer, I think the best approach is to wait it out, walk it out if it comes back, stretch a little but not a lot, and stay away from doctors.
The above is about the knee ITP - if your pain is near the hip, let me know, its different.
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