stretches for sore glutes and tight IT Bands!

it's been a week, and my booty is still pretty freakin' tender! the typical muscle soreness i get from lifting is gone. however, when i walk up stairs or stand up from a seated position, the area between my hips and gluteus maximus burns like a mother! i have a feeling it was from the 100 glute ham raises or maybe the 100 bench jump overs. either way, i'm still sore.

lower body cross training workouts with high reps often cause deep glute and hip soreness. if you do your web research, tendonitis, bursitis, IT band syndrome, and piriformis syndrome will all come up as the culprit. all of which are probably due to overtraining the IT Bands. if you really think you have a painful chronic condition, go see a sports medicine doc!

but, if we're just talkin' a killer WOD and you need a good rub down to melt the muscle, i've got some awesome videos that'll show you how.

anatomy lesson:



what is the IT Band?

here's a fantastic rundown from Running Times:

"the it band begins in the hip as the tensor fascia latae muscle and has attachments at the origin from three different muscles: the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and vastus lateralis. the muscle becomes a fibrous band of tissue as it progresses down the thigh, then crosses the knee joint, and inserts along the lateral (outside) portion of the patella (knee cap) and into the tibia (shin) bone on a bump known as gerdy’s tubercle.

the classic symptoms of itbs are pain along the lateral (outside) aspect of the knee joint, sometimes accompanied by a clicking sensation. the click is a result of the itb tightening and snapping across the joint during running. the symptoms are often worse when running up or down hills.

itbs is typically progressive, starting with tightness and often advancing to the point where the pain is debilitating. the traditional view on the cause of this injury has focused on the tightness of the structure and overtraining. there is no doubt that the itb will become tighter when it is injured. the tightness, however, is more than likely a result of the injury and not the actual cause. the cause of this injury actually lies in the function of the itb.

the main functions of the itb are to assist the hip muscles in abduction (outward movement) of the thigh and to stabilize the lateral side of the knee. the itb is not a strong structure, and if the surrounding muscles have any weakness that can lead to injury and itb syndrome. runners are notoriously weak in their hip and core muscles, particularly if strength training or participation in sports that involve side-to-side movement are lacking."

stretches and massages

if you're feeling tightness and soreness, there are some floor stretches you can do to activate the IT Bands and surrounding muscles. for really intense muscle massage, i highly recommend a foam roller. the ones with nodules will really work it. if you really want to get in there and you kind of enjoy the pain, you should use a tennis ball! then tennis ball nearly brought me to tears...it hurts so good!

prevention

if you're feeling discomfort, it's important to take it easy. repetitive stress to overused IT Bands and glutes will only make it worse. so, rest, rest, rest! when the soreness and pain diminishes, be sure you maintain a stretching routine after each workout. sneaking in gentle stretches through the day will benefit you greatly...especially if you've got delayed onset soreness that lasts for days!

did you like this? leave a comment or share with a friend by clicking a link below!