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I have struggled for a while with Illiotibial Band pain or Illiotibial Band Friction Syndrome when cycling and running, here are some of the things that I have done to get rid of the pain:

When it is inflammed:

  1. Cataflam (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory - NSAID)
  2. Ice
  3. Transact patches (topical anti-inflammatory)
  4. Rest

Prevention:

  1. Hamstring strectches
  2. Massage (cross friction on ITB)
  3. Strengthening of gluteus medius
  4. Stretching of gluteus medius and TFL (Tensor Fascia Latae)
  5. Foam roller
  6. Bike setup correction (moving saddle forward worked for me)

There are some good resources on the Internet, here are some I have read:

Cycling Problems - ITB Pain And Tightness, by Karen Doyle

ITBS Help Site

What have you done to get rid of ITBS?

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    Please try to focus on asking a specific question, rather than generating a discussion-board style post, or answering your own question.
    – Dustin Ingram
    Commented Aug 26, 2010 at 16:38
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    Is 'What have you done to get rid of ITBS?' not specific enough?
    – Richard Tasker
    Commented Aug 30, 2010 at 7:52
  • 4
    Have you tried getting a professional bike fit to make sure your bike is setup properly?
    – jenglert
    Commented Aug 30, 2010 at 15:22
  • Research is ditching ice for recovery, instead you want to get good blood flow into the area, ideally well nurtured blood
    – gaurwraith
    Commented Sep 15, 2016 at 10:28

4 Answers 4

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Not sure if my direct pain was related to ITBS - but this cut out a lot of pain I was having: Custom Pedal Extenders. I am large person and this reduced a lot of pain I was getting in my inner thighs and hip.

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    I think the take home is that improved foot/knee/hip alignment can reduce the stress on connective tissue like an IT band. The best way to accomplish this will likely vary by individual. Some came accomplish this by shimming and clear adjustments, others need solutions such as the one linked above.
    – Rider_X
    Commented Sep 15, 2016 at 16:11
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Part of the solution for me was orthotics in my shoes. According to the chiropractor I was working with, pronation in the feet can cause stress up the leg to the ITB and all the way up into the lower back.

I put orthotics in my regular shoes and my running shoes. My bike fitter was able to put shims in my biking shoes in the cleats to help with pronation on the bike.

YMMV, but it was part of the solution with stretches, ice, the stick, and massage to get rid of the pain.

Good luck.

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I saw a sports doctor and he performed an ITB release. It was a very quick procedure peformed under local anasthetic where they partially cut the ITB, lengthening it. I walked out of the doctors and was back on the bike a few weeks. Since then I've had no trouble at all. I would really recommend discussing it with your doctor.

Surgery is mentioned on wikipedia. There is more information here

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  • I think surgery should only be considered as some "last resort" solution.
    – Benedikt Bauer
    Commented Oct 24, 2013 at 8:11
  • @BenediktBauer Agreed. However, it's a low impact surgery and it's solved all my problems, so I think it's worth mentioning.
    – Mac
    Commented Oct 24, 2013 at 22:21
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The most comprehensive article I ever read. Yeah, you have to pay for it and it doesn't have a silver bullet, but it's for sure bring some light on this topic. Since I've tried everything except of surgery, I am still experimenting of different treatments. Last year it just disappeared after 4 months, I tried to stop riding for several month, then I got tired of not riding and went back to it and after several weeks pain disappeared. Now it came back...

So in particular, I've tried:

  • icing (several times a day)
  • foam roling
  • stretching
  • stopping riding
  • reducing intensity of the rides
  • reducing time of rides
  • iboprofen
  • physical therapy
  • hips exercises
  • core exercises
  • microcurrent therapy
  • contrasting (ice + heat)
  • self massage
  • seeing massage therapist
  • taping
  • eating a lot of anti-inflammatory food

It disappeared magically, so can't say what worked if anything.

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    While this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference.
    – freiheit
    Commented Oct 22, 2013 at 20:50
  • @freiheit Hm, nice point, but did you read my answer? It has the answer, it starts from "Since I've tried...". Okay, see my edited answer, if that helps.
    – Restuta
    Commented Oct 23, 2013 at 21:47

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