I.T. Straps, fiction or fact? After my race yesterday I'd say fact.
I try not to be a sucker for all those unnecessary accessories where the injury just needs some TLC recovery time, and the only benefit seems to be adding some ridiculous color or pattern to your outfit.
But I am convinced when I personally experience something that truly works. After my last 50K 4 weeks ago at Holcomb Valley Trail Run, I've been nursing an IT band pain. With only a few very painful runs achieved from that race to my 50K race yesterday at Harding Hustle, my last training run ended painfully at mile 9miles. How was I going to do 32Miles if I couldn't go past 9?
I did the one thing you are never suppose to do, tried something new on race day. Since this was a training run for my 100M race coming up in August, I knew I needed something and what better time to do it!
During those 32Miles the only small twinge I felt was mile 13. That was on a downhill over a loose rocky technical area. Besides that the IT held up with no pain and it was easy to use. At the finish when I took off the strap I did notice that I got a small blister on the back of my leg, but did not feel it during my run. On the trail I did readjust it 3 times, when I started to feel the IT, and that seemed to work well to make it go away.
When buying the IT Band strap make sure you are aware that the IT band strap is the one that goes above your knee. For IT band injuries seeing a physical therapist and taking time off is how to heal the injury. The IT strap should only be used when still in training. Prolonged use without healing can lead to greater injuries.
