ITB injury

by Mohamed
(Egypt)

Good morning ,
i hope you are doing good , in fact i need your help about how to get to back to running after an ITB injury , i visited a therapist and took 6 sessions of ultrasound on knee with some anti inflammatory , then i found i plan about getting back to running but in fact it was harmful to me ( it was starting with strides ) so please i wish i can find a suitable plan here to enable me to run safe again, also i do rehab routine and strength workouts almost every day ,
thank you so much
Mohamed

Nicole's reply:
Hi Mohamed, thanks for your question. Sorry to hear about your ITB injury as they can sometimes be a nuisance to heal. It sounds like you have done the right things in getting relevant treatment and following a rehab routine with strength workouts.

I am guessing that your getting back to running program was a general program and not suited to getting back to running after an ITB injury. The key with any injury is to start back slowly and definitely not with speed work.

Once you feel that you are no longer in pain with walking, start back with a 30 minute easy run, making sure that you incorporate a proper warm up and cool down. By easy that means conversational pace. So you might do 10 minutes warm up, 10 minutes easy running and then 10 minutes cool down. Have a rest day and then for the next run, try adding in 5 minutes but always making sure that you are comfortable and pain free. The return to running phase could take you 2 - 4 weeks but as always, listen to your body and don't rush it.

I would also suggest that you talk to your therapist who knows your injury history and so can advise you on the appropriate return to running strategy. I hope that helps.