Foam Rolling the IT Band – 3 Alternatives

Three Alternatives to Foam Rolling Your IT-Band
If you have ever tried foam rolling your it-band to eliminate knee pain or it-band tightness – you probably know it hurts like hell!  While some gym members may benefit from some light rolling to reset neural tension (do it like this), here are three alternatives that you may find better results with…

Three Alternatives to Eliminate Knee Pain
#1: Optimize Foot/Ankle Function
#2: Get Your Glutes Firing
#3: Train for Dynamic Alignment

Why is my it-band tight?
Knee pain is often the symptom of hip or ankle dysfunction.  Poor ankle range of motion can cause knee problems, especially the tendency to collapse the medial arch of the foot during squats or running.  When the arch collapses the knee does not track properly inline with the foot and is commonly seen with collapsing in during squats.

A common pattern that runners face is the arch collapsing, lower leg rotating inward, and knee collapsing inward.  These three motions (see below) irritate the it-band.  This can be the result of fatigue after prolonged running, but is often the result of weak/inhibited glutes.

Glute Activation: Hip Hinge & Lateral Band Steps
The glute max externally rotates the knee and the glute medius abducts the knee countering the actions we don’t want in the pattern above.  The single leg hip hinge pattern (link) trains the medial arch, knee stability, and the glutes – making it a great exercise to train dynamic alignment.  Lateral band steps are another great exercise to integrate glute activation and foot strengthening (link).

As for the foot itself – check out this intrinsic foot strength video by Dr. Andrea Spinea.

– Kevin Kula, “The Flexibility Coach” – Creator of FlexibilityRx™ – www.FlexibilityRx.com

Related Resources
Breaking Muscle: Your IT-Band is Not the Enemy (link)
Dean Somerset: Knee Pain – I Bet It’s Your IT-Band (link)
Dr. Andreo Spina: Intrinsic Foot Strength (link)

Tags: foam roll it-band, foam rolling, stretching the IT-Band, tight it-band