*Warning - to all my non-running friends, this will probably be a very boring post! Feel free to skip this one and return when pictures of the adorable baby appear once again :) *
Well, as we know, the internet has lots of information that can help us (and it's all true, right?!?!). I am very excited because I found something very useful on the internet last week. I *think* I might have found a solution to my knee pain!!! I'm kind of nervous to even say that, as though I might jinx myself by saying it and all of a sudden it will stop working! But so far it's been a great solution. What is it, you ask?
A rolling pin!
I have been having IT band pain for almost 2 years! When I would run, it would start up after only a few minutes and would get to be really painful. If I was running often, it got to where it hurt all the time, even if I was just lying on the couch. I tried everything I could think of. I did stretches, iced it, saw a sports doctor, did more stretches, had a cortisone shot, more ice...but it always came back as soon as I started running consistently. It was really discouraging since I love running so much (it is still strange to hear myself say that!).
The iliotibial band runs along the outside of your leg from your hip to your knee...to be honest I don't know that much about it, but I know it was hurting a LOT! I tried doing more research about it and found a treatment that kept appearing in running articles - using a foam roller. It sounded great, but I don't have a foam roller. Then I read somewhere that you can just use a rolling pin and I knew I was onto something! I had two rolling pins anyway, and let's face it, it's not like either of them had been used that often. So one of them has now been designated as my leg roller (Brad declared that he would be pretty grossed out if he ever saw me using it on food after it's massaged my leg!). Basically I have been using it several times a day and rolling it on the outside of my legs. I'm hoping to get some foam to put around it so that I can do the knee area better. Yesterday I ran 2 miles and my knee did not hurt AT ALL! I am so thankful to have found something that seems to be helping!
3 comments:
From one knee pain sufferer to another, this is brilliant!!! I have pretty severe IT band tightness and patellar tendinitis from doing Crossfit and use a foam roller (which does help some), but really being able to "dig in" to the muscle with a rolling pin is genius! I have also been told by my trainer that making sure your calves, quads and hamstrings are well-stretched will also help with the knee pain. Also, you can use a tennis ball or lacrosse ball to massage that band.
cool! I wonder if it would do anything for my ailing hip. Man... we are getting old!
Yahoo for home remedies!
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