IT band syndrome

[Joe]

I've been suffering from pain on the outside of my left knee for a while now. It originally only appeared after 40miles or so but a couple of days ago (and this was after a week off the bike for another reason) it appeared instantly and was really painful for my entire commute.
I went to the doctors and he diagnosed it as IT band syndrome and gave me some stretches to do. He said it wasn't serious and I wouldn't do myself any permanent damage by continuing to ride but I'm going to stay off the bike for a bit.
Anyone else have any experience with it? I'm assuming my fit on the bike has something to do with it. I don't recall having a problem with it on my mountain bike which has platform pedals (I'm going to go for a spin on it tomorrow to check).
It might be time to finally get that bike fitting done eh? I know cyclefit in London has been recomended on here a few times, and they sound great, but I'm not sure I can afford it at the moment! Will a "bog standard" £35 bike fit from a bike shop help (do they include cleat adjustment?). Can anyone recommend somewhere in the Brighton and surrounding area?
Anyones experiences with IT band problems would be helpful

 

[Crackle]

Joe, it might not help but have you seen my cleat setup thread in know how - some good advice from Blonde on possible casues and solutions to IT band pain

 

[Crackle]

Also check out this link

http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=default#qa

 

[Steve Austin]

I get IT pain a lot. its a classic overuse injury and exacerbated by over strenuous exercise. I get mine when walking not from cycling. as the ilio tibial band is not a muscle it can be difficult to make it stretchy and make it all better and relieve the pain. so RICE can help the symptoms, and some gentle stretching has helped me not to get it so quickly again.
worth looking here imo, i found the site useful.
Wearing a knee support helps prevent it when walking for me, not sure this would be a good idea for cycling

IMO i wouldn't think A cyclefitting session would help at all as its caused by overuse NOT bad positioning.

 

[Steve Austin]

Its more commonly known as runners knee btw.
Your not a runner are you?

 

[starseven]

Joe

Spend £100 on a few phsyo sessions he will give you a excercise to strengthen the surrounding muscle, if you take his advice it will be the best £100 you ever spend.

all the best

 

[Joe]

That cleat thread is full of useful info, cheers. And I may splash out on some sessions with the physio if I can't solve it myself.
I'm still leaning toward getting a bike fitting, if only to take it out of the equation as much as possible. I went into town and back (6 miles) on the mountain bike with no issues and yet within a couple of miles on the road bike the pain started. Which leads me to believe that whilst overuse may be the cause, my road bike setup isn't quite right...
I'm not a runner by the way (though Radcliff today was quite inspiring!)

 

[johnny]

Regular stretching and six weeks of physio have sorted it out for me. I was told the pain was caused by the ITB skewing the knee cap and so when the knee moved it rubbed......not something that you want to ignore as in time you'll kill your knees.

Oh and mine was caused by skiing, not running or cycling.

 

[HLaB]

Sounds similar to the problem the pyhsio diagnosed with my knee. She told me to continue commuting (I only commute about 8.5miles round) and gave me some exercises too and touch wood its went away