Illotibial band pain and related injuries are multifaceted. Sometimes preventing pronation will help, but often overpronation is not the only cause and sometimes not the cause at all. In recent years, we have seen more cases of illotibial band issues related to shoes that don't flex properly with the foot throughout the gait  cycle. The best thing to do is to come to our store and bring a pair or two of your old shoes. When we look at your feet, shoes, and listen to you tell us what's happening, it should be fairly easy to resolve.

We are open Monday-Saturday 10am to 6pm. Our telephone number is 864.370.9721.

Illotibial Band Syndrome (this is our information that is given to our customers)

• IT Band syndrome is usually caused by wearing shoes or insoles that don't flex properly at mid-stance; it can sometimes be caused by wearing shoes that don't offer enough medial support, which causes excessive pronation.
• Running too many hills or too much speed work in a improper manner can irritate the illotibial band.
• Too much deep tissue work directly on the point of pain is detrimental.
• Use the most flexible shoes possible that also offer enough medial support.
• Stretch the hamstrings, quadriceps, and gluteal muscles in non-weight bearing positions. Only stretch muscles, not tendons.
• Ultra-sound therapy works very well.
• Ant-inflammatory drugs will give some relief.

Symptoms: A common complaint among long-distance runners, runner's knee feels like a soreness around and sometimes behind the kneecap. It's usually aggravated by running or climbing stairs. Your knee may feel stiff and sore after sitting down for long periods.You might even hear a clicking sound when you bend or extend your knee.

Cause: Runner's knee is usually caused by shoes that do not properly support the foot and therefore let and/or force the foot into the improper position.

Treatment: First, you can reduce the pain and inflammation by icing your knees immediately after running. Take an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen or aspirin after running, too, but only with food and never before running. Work on strengthening your quad muscles, which will help support and stabilize your kneecap. Make sure you have the right kind of shoes for your foot type.

• Train don't strain.
• Be consistent.
• Read your body.
• Be smart, be a "thinker"
• Take "recovery" days.
• Increase distance and intensity gradually.
• Don't increase overall mileage by running more on recovery days.
• "Those who win work-outs don't usually win races", - don't let workouts become competitive, save racing for races.
• Warm up sufficiently before intense workouts.
• Remember that other stresses in life also affect your running.
• Eat smart - every motor needs fuel, if premium is unavailable put something in.
• Every great runner has injuries and set backs; so don't be discouraged if you get hurt or have problems. The successful runner thinks through these setbacks and comes back even stronger.
• Be confident in your program. Feel free to discuss training any time with your coach.

TEMPO = Pace of 20-25 second/mile slower than you 10k race pace (equals close to marathon race pace)

SPEED = Hard, but not "petal to the metal", should feel "pleasantly fatigued". Could do more if you had to.

Long Run = Long but relaxed, conversational. Builds blood volume and capillaries. Tiring, but not wipe out. Pleasantly fatigued - next day recovery - feet up. Do not ever run hard the day after a long run

• Stretch the calf and soleus in non-weight bearing posistions; use a towel or stretch band if needed.
• Keep the calf and soleus as relaxed as possible. Avoid strengthening work in this area.
• Deep tissue massage on the calf and soleus (but NOT the plantar fascia) can be beneficial.
• Use the most flexible shoe possible, but make sure it also offers good support and cushion.
• Ultra-sound therapy works wonders. It needs to be used intensely on the calf, soleus and plantar fascia.
• Ant-inflammatory drugs will give some relief.

• IT band syndrome is usually caused by wearing shoes or insoles that don't flex properly at mid-stance: it can sometimes be caused by wearing shoes that don't offer enough medial support, which results in excessive pronation.
• Running too many hills or too much speed work in an improper manner can irritate iliotibial band syndrome.
• Too much deep tissue work directly on the point of pain can also be detrimental.
• Use the most flexible shoes possible that also offer enough medial support.
• Stretch the hamstrings, quadriceps and gluteal muscles in non-weight bearing positions. Only stretch muscles, not tendons.
• Ultra-sound therapy works very well.
• Anti-inflammatory drugs will give some relief.

A shoe that is rigid in its longitudinal direction will impede forward prgress and cause its wearer to use more energy and muscle strength to keep going in a forward direction, (running or walking). This repeated stress often causes titghtness, spasms, or tearing if continued long enough. Obviously, a foot will proceed in the direction of least resistance, so creating lateral rssistance or medial resistance (to prevent such things as over-pronation) is somtimes a good thing if the runner has experienced injury or performance limitations because of this. The problem is that creating resistance to forward motion at the same time not only causes the aforementioned stresses, but actually makes the shoe less stable to the lateral stresses (as the foot will roll in the direction that has the least resistance), possibly to one side instead of forward. Segmenting the outer sole and/or midsole of a running shoe leads to more efficient biomechanics and less shock transmittal to the feet, legs and torso. When a runner's biomechanics are more efficient, he/she will have less chance of injury and will actually run a bit faster. Remember, there really is no such thing as an "overuse injury"; it is simply a biomechanical imbalance that didn't surface at a less intense level of training.

If you are experiencing limitations that may be due to your footwear, we at Run In will gladly modify your shoe at no charge. If no modifications are needed ~ that's great! ~ We will be pleased to sell you a shoe as received from the factory. Run In firmly believes and stands behind its sales and modifications. We strive to make your running experiences as enjoyable as possible and if there is anything we can do to help, please let us know.