Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS)

The iliotibial band (IT band) is a band of fibrous tissue (fascia latae) that runs down the outside of your thigh from your hip and all the way down to your knee. It provides stability to the hip and knee and its job is to prevent the dislocation of both knee and hip joints.

When the band becomes tight it compresses the tissue around the hip bone or the outside of the knee joint. This compression of the tissue affects the hip, leg muscles and the knee (reference: 1).

Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is a common condition in athletes, especially runners and cyclists, and occurs when the IT band becomes irritated, inflamed and tight. The IT band (also called the iliotibial band or iliotibial tract) is a thick, fibrous tendon that runs along the outside of each leg. These bands run from the iliac (crest of the pelvis), over the greater trochanter at the side of the hip, down the leg, and inserts on the outside of the knee at the top of the tibia (tibial tubercle). Each IT band works with the thigh muscles during flexion and extension of the knee to slow you down when running and helps provide stability to the knee joints.

Excessive rubbing of the IT band over the tibial tubercle (bony prominence at the outside of the knee) is a common cause of the irritation that leads to inflammation, tightness and pain. Although the pain from ITBS usually occurs at the outside of the knee, soreness in the hip may also occur. Pain in the hip is usually caused by the IT band tightening and rubbing over the greater trochanter, the outer hip bone.

The initial pain of ITBS is caused by the tightening, irritation, and inflammation in the IT band. As the IT band starts to heal, scar tissue begins to develop on the iliotibial tract. This scar tissue is tough and inflexible and it stops the muscles attached to the IT band from moving smoothly. This causes further pain at the knee and tightness is usually felt in the hip and down the leg to the knee.

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Symptoms of Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Symptoms of ITBS in runners usually begin with pain developing during a run which subsides shortly after the run finishes. Pain continues to appear with every run eventually progressing to more constant pain while walking or going up or down stairs. Typical symptoms experienced are:

• Pain at the lateral (outside) knee and hip
• Swelling over the hip (greater trochanter) and outer knee
• Knee Pain, possibly accompanied by Hip Pain
• Stiffness running down the side of the thigh

Causes of Iliotibial Band Syndrome

Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome (ITBS) is common for people who participate in sports that require running or repetitive hip and knee movements (flexing and extending the hip/knee/leg). Sports such as long-distance running, cycling, tennis, soccer, skiing, weight lifting and aerobics can lead to IT band issues. Iliotibial Band tendonitis is also often referred to as an overuse injury.

If you look at the bottom of your shoes you'll soon notice the uneven or excessive wear in certain spots. These wear patterns on the soles of your shoes show how your foot is striking the ground (your gait). If you are noticing excessive wearing of your shoes in certain places your gait (the way you walk) may be off. Wear patterns also may show if your foot is rolling inward or outward (pronation or supination). Your hip alignment or leg-length may also tighten your Iliotibial Band.

Everything is connected in our bodies - the way you walk including the placement of your foot may depend on whether you have knee and/or hip issues and other injuries. Improper gait can cause IT band issues and an improper gait can happen due to a large number of factors including short leg syndrome (SLS), back problems, hip problems, knee and ankle problems and even improper footwear. If you are suffering from IT band pain you're probably also suffering from another injury in your hip, knee and/or foot or from a natural issue with your gait (flat-feet, fallen arches, over-pronation or short-leg syndrome).

Risks of Contracting Iliotibial Band Syndrome

The risk of a person contracting iliotibial band syndrome can increase with any condition or activity that may cause excessive rubbing of the IT band, such as:

• Increasing training distance or intensity to quickly
• Performing squats while lifting weights
• Poor form when biking (i.e. incorrect cleat position, saddle height or positioning from bars)
• Improper shoe fit when running
• Running on a slanted surface or downhill
• Muscle imbalances (i.e. weak hip abductor, quads more developed than hamstrings)
• Pregnancy
• Poor foot structure (flat feet, pronation), an awkward gait (i.e. bow-legged, knock knees), or abnormal leg lengths
• Playing court sports with frequent stopping movements (i.e. tennis, handball)

Tests for Iliotibial Band Syndrome
(IT Band Diagnosis)

The best way to diagnose this condition is with a quick visit to the your doctor or physical therapist for a physical examination of your hip, leg and knee. Your Doctor might have you perform a Noble Compression Test (a flexibility test) where they see how flexible your IT Band and hip flexors are. During this test your doctor or physical therapist will have you lay on your back and perform a few movements of your leg and hip to discover if there is inflammation in either area.

Your doctor will do a physical examination which may include range of motion tests. He or she may arrange x-rays and/or an MRI. An x-ray will rule out calcification or bone spurs in the area. An MRI can identify the inflammation or damaged IT band. It can also determine if there is any other damage in the soft tissue neighbouring the iliotibial tract.

Treating IT Band Syndrome (ITBS)

Initial treatment of iliotibial band syndrome should focus on resting your leg and reducing the inflammation to help relieve pain. Do not train through the pain. It may be necessary to stop training for a week or two.

Treating your iliotibial tract with cold compression and Circulation Boost will reduce the pain and inflammation so you can get back to training sooner. However, once the pain is gone it does not mean you are healed. Absence of pain generally means the swelling and inflammation is gone, but it takes quite a while for the underlying injury to heal. This is why you get flare ups after you start getting active again (once the pain is gone) - you are still injured and must heal the injury completely!

Use a Cold Compress or Ice Pack For Relief From Pain & Swelling

When your IT band becomes inflamed and sore during a run, doctors recommend immediate treatment with cold therapy. Cold therapy is the safe and natural way to control pain and swelling while minimizing tissue damage. Frequent, cold treatments within the first 72 hours of the iliotibial tendon becoming inflamed is an effective way to relieve pain and swelling while limiting the amount of damage done to your tissue. In addition, cold therapy can reduce, or even eliminate, the need for NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) that can be harmful to your body.

Cold works by interrupting and slowing nerve and tissue function in the injured area and reducing swelling that can block blood vessels. This is important because once blood vessels are blocked or damaged, they can no longer carry oxygen and nutrients to your iliotibial tract and tissues begin to break-down. Without cold therapy, cellular break-down and tissue damage continues because the cells do not get the oxygen they need to survive.

The TShellz^® Circulatory Boost Wrap

When you stop moving your hip because it hurts the amount of blood that flows naturally to your acetabular joint is reduced, limiting your body's natural ability to heal itself. This why massage, PT and stretches are all considered important in rehab - they are all designed to (1) induce more blood flow to the injury area so you can heal faster, and (2) keep your soft tissue (muscles,ligaments,tendons) stretched and flexible to help prevent atrophy.

Even though the concept is simple, improving blood flow to injured tissues can be difficult. Traditional methods require your muscles and tendons to move to promote blood flow (exercise), but that same motion that promotes blood flow can at times lead to making your pain and condition worse.

Heat energy generated by the TShellz Wraps^® operate by increasing blood flow in our injured soft tissue. This means ligaments, muscles, and tendons. The objective of the TShellz Wrap^® is to relax blood vessels - these vessels then gently expand, allowing for more nutrient rich blood flow along with extra oxygen to reach the damaged tissues. Plus, the enhanced blood flow helps in flushing waste and fluid build-up from the injury site - further enhancing the ability of the body to heal.

Once the inflammation in your IT band has been reduced with cold therapy it is time to take the next step in your IT band treatment. Use a Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® to improve blood flow while simultaneously helping surrounding soft tissue to become elongated and more elastic. TShellz Wraps^® are basically the perfect tool to use at home to help augment your massage and PT sessions to help keep your blood moving.

Improved blood flow helps reduce the risk of atrophy in muscles. When you stop moving your leg and hip due to pain, your muscles and other tissue can become weaker and dead tissue and toxins in the area can cause further tissue deterioration - this can lead to atrophy in your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and many other muscles in the thigh, groin, lower back, knee and hip. The Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® is a tool that can be used to treat your entire core area. We have TShellz Wraps^® for every major joint of the body.

By clearing the area of toxins and increasing the amount of oxygen and nutrients to soft tissue in your hip, the risk of atrophy (muscle weakness and/or deterioration) is greatly reduced. Keeping your hip and leg tissue as healthy as possible throughout the healing process will allow you to improve strength again once your pain has gone and your IT band has healed.

HEAT (warmth) is used after you've reduced your swelling / inflammation and the sharp pain is less intense (you have more of a dull / nagging ache and soft tissue tightness in your hip). Warming up tissue in the area is a natural way to encourage healing of muscles, tendons and ligaments. It's the blood in your body that will bring oxygen, nutrients and water (basically energy) to your injured hip to help with healing.

When heat is applied to the hip, veins and blood vessels will start to get bigger (expand) to allow more blood flow through to your damaged or torn soft tissue. This in turn relaxes your hip, making the tissue more flexible and elastic. This is why heat is used on older (chronic) injuries, to loosen tissue and bring in the blood flow needed for soft tissue to repair. Your body will begin to heal itself after it is injured - increasing your blood flow with heat will, in most cases, speed up this natural process - often surprisingly well.

Doctors usually call this process 'Vasodilation'.

The primary intent of a heat based application is to increase blood flow circulation and, as such, stimulate the body's own natural recovery process for older (chronic) or recent (acute) injuries, long-term post surgery recovery and more recently - for some regenerative therapies performed by doctors and pts. Warmer temperatures should be used approximately 3 to 5 days after you first have the injury or even later if the swelling has not reduced significantly. Heat should not be started for a least 2 weeks after surgery because inflammation levels will be very high as the healing process starts over again. Any use of heat should also be combined with gradual movement to stretch out your hip and increase range of motion.

If you have a chronic hip injury that keeps getting re-injured you should use heat before activity to loosen up your tissue (making it more flexible). When used at this time the warm temperatures naturally extend the elasticity (elastic-nature) of the joint, making it more movable / pliable for activity.

Sometimes we feel pain while doing a certain activity - should you still use heat? Using heat in the morning before you start your day or before activity can help to boost the healing process and reduce your risk of re-injury. Too much heat (especially when you suffer a set-back with swelling / inflammation) can make your inflammation worse. Cold treatments with a Cold Compress or Ice Pack should be used part-way through your day when you suffer from on-going pain and inflammation as a natural pain-reliever.

Using heat is a good long-term plan because it can be used on a preventive basis to relax constricted soft tissue. Heat will increase the volume of blood circulation, which in turn, brings all the components your body needs to heal more efficiently - oxygen, nutrients, anti-bodies and energy.

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For many people, the treatment doesn't just end with Heat and/or Cold applications. Stretching is plays an important part in hip soft tissue recovery - and it's the final step needed when healing your injury with conservative treatment methods.

You would be surprised by how many people there are that don't understand the importance of stretching a deep tissue hip injury. Before returning to full activity after a hip injury, physical therapists prescribe gentle stretching of the affected area... This is because stretching an important part in recovery from any soft tissue injury. Consistent stretching is one of few solutions available to break up scar tissue that forms on your hip as it heals.

Anti-Inflammatory Medications for IT Band

NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, can be used if required to help manage your pain. However, these aren't recommended for long term use, as they can cause gastrointestinal difficulties and increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. The TShellz Wrap^®, when used in conjunction with NSAIDs can greatly improve the effect of the medication; this can not only help you heal quickly but also reduce the amount of NSAIDs that you ultimately may require.

Rehabilitation Exercise

PT is a beneficial way to restore atrophied muscles and improve strength and mobility when suffering through a long term debilitating hip injury. The type of PT and the duration will be dependent on the tissue damage and your symptoms. When you are treating or recovering from IT Band syndrome, it is important to ensure you do not perform any exercises that will further irritate the condition.

Once your pain starts to diminish, a physiotherapist will set up an individualized strengthening and stretching exercise program for you to perform at home or in the gym. This will be based on your needs and abilities, and will help you return to performing your normal routines.

Individuals will often lift weights on their own, to try and build up their strength. However, in doing so, they can do more damage to their joint. It is extremely important to strengthen your muscles properly, as they may have weakened during the period of non-use. A trained therapist will help to ensure your rehabilitation process is appropriate and effective. For best, long term results use TShellz Wraps^® at home, in conjunction with PT and an exercise program.

Key Points To Keep in Mind When Treating Your Hip Injury

Make Sure That Complete Healing is Your #1 Goal

We all know that if the injury was healed, the pain would go away but what about the opposite situation? If the pain is gone, does that mean the injury is better? Unfortunately, this is not always true.

Too many people only focus on suppressing pain symptoms while providing less attention to the true healing aspects of the body. Experiencing less pain, while obviously a good short-term goal, never equates to underlying healing. Scar tissue can remain for months after one gets to a point of being relatively pain-free. However, as long the weak and brittle scar tissue remains, you are susceptible to re-injury or re-aggravation. Certain motions or movements can cause the weaker tissue to easily tear - resulting in some reversal of the recovery up until that point.

This is why we recommend for people to continue with their doctor or therapist recommended exercises and to continue with mild treatments of the TShellz Wrap^® for a period of time - to better ensure complete healing.

Ongoing treatments to enhance circulation will soothe, relax and help promote a healthy recovery of your damaged hip muscles and tendons. Back/Hip T•Shellz treatments will also allow your soft tissue to extend further due to the deep warming sensation created by the enhanced circulation to the treatment area. The more extensible your tissues are, the less likely they are to strain or sprain.

The Back/Hip TShellz Wrap^® is intended to be highly effective medical device for people suffering from sciatica, bursitis or other soft tissue hip & back injuries - such as a tear in your muscle, tendon or other soft tissue, strain, Tendonitis, tendinopathy, tendinosis, impingements, instability and pain associated with trigger points.

Many people who contact us about hip pain are unsure about the true causes of their discomfort. It is an amazing statistic and really goes to show how important it is to get a proper diagnosis from your physician. To really deal with a injury, you have to know the injury is - so get to the doctor and find out.

People tell us all the time, "I was told that if I stay off my feet for a few weeks, my hip pain will disappear for good." The truth is, hip pain is usually a culmination of numerous factors, which often include repetitive stress, high load issues due to excess weight, and/or overcompensation issues resulting from other muscle and soft tissue ailments.

It may take weeks or months for these hip pain triggers to surface, but when they do, merely resting will not solve the underlying issues. You need to utilize options that actually treat the source of the pain and help reverse the damage that has been done.

Resting has a role to play, but it is only one small factor in a recovery plan.

Identify What is Causing Your Hip Problem & Fix It
Otherwise, It May Come Back

In order to provide long lasting relief from your hip pain, you need to identify all the factors that are contributing to it. These factors can include muscle imbalances, short leg syndrome, herniated discs, trauma and tightness to surrounding muscle and soft tissue, etc. The list is certainly significant and it can be frustrating for people who may have no idea where to begin. This is one of many reasons why you should always get to a physician and, in some cases, a specialist to identify the source of your problem.

Let me tell you, we appreciate all the feedback we have received over the years. We have had many medical professionals, athletes and everyday people call and write to tell us about their positive experiences with our devices and the company in general. It never gets old hearing about the successes and it provides us with the motivation to continue doing what we do best - provide individuals with options to heal from the comfort of their own home.

Below is a small sample of some of the Customer Service comments we have received from customers...

If you're tired of being told that resting, drugs and surgery are the only answers to your soft tissue injury.... Be optimistic, because there are effective alternatives for you.

We will never claim our products will work for everyone. That is simply impossible to achieve. Everyone has a different capacity for recovery and different circumstances behind their injuries and/or conditions.

In addition, some people may have a hard time sticking with recommended protocol in order to achieve benefits from our devices. Quite simply, our clients that have had successful outcomes have made a small effort to invest 60 minutes a day into the program. If you do the same, chances are you will be very happy with the outcome. The fact that our very low return rate speaks volumes as to the confidence we have that our products will be effective for you! I mean with a full 60 day money back guarantee on our wraps, there really is no risk in trying.

Right after you place an order, email us and we will have a plan developed immediately so you will be able to get started upon arrival of your parcel. We can't promise you miraculous results, however, we do promise to do everything we can to help you with your condition.

Everything you have read up to now has hopefully given you some hope.

However, words are meaningless unless a company stands strongly behind the products they sell. This is what sets us apart from others...we offer people a comprehensive, 60 day, full 100% money back guarantee. We take on all of the risk because we know our products work well for the overwhelming majority of people who purchase them.

We Will Support You Every Step of the Way

You are never alone when making a purchase from us. When we say we stand behind our products, we truly mean it!

If any question or concern arises, simply send us an email at any time (we check our emails constantly all throughout the day and night - even on holidays!). We will respond as soon as possible.

Click HERE to Go To Our Online Store We take all major credit cards and Paypal. If you are on your mobile phone, Click to Call Our Office (toll free continental NA).

Simply call toll free 1-866-237-9608 to place an order with one of our knowledgeable Product Advisers. They have the ability to answer all your questions...ensuring you only receive the products you need.

Product Advisors are available 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time Monday to Friday.

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We Stand Behind All Our Promises With An Iron-Clad Guarantee

• Guarantee #1 - Use your products diligently for up to 60 days and you will experience a significant reduction in pain. If not, I encourage you to call us to send back the items for a 100% refund.
• Guarantee #2 - You will not be left in the dark after purchasing any product form us. MendMyHip Advisers and Product Specialists are available Mon - Fri by toll free phone 1.866.237.9608 or email to answer your questions or concerns.
• Guarantee #3 - Your order is guaranteed to be shipped within 24 hours on every business day.
• Guarantee #4 - All purchases receive a one year, full replacement warranty with guaranteed, prompt service.
• Guarantee #5 - You could save hundreds of dollars and possibly more, by utilizing our products, and getting back to work sooner.

Overall, we are able to be cost effective and value oriented due to two major reasons:

1. Word is spreading and as a result, our sales are increasing. With this increase, we can achieve economies of scale...meaning we receive the best component pricing because our volume is high.


2. We keep our overhead costs low by selling only on-line versus setting up costly distribution channels offline.

Think about it – you can now have the ability to treat your pain from the comfort of your own home while saving money in the process. Best of all, you are fully protected when making a purchase from us as we offer a 60 day, full money back guarantee.

Conservative treatment tools just like these have been used successfully by thousands of hip injury sufferers - just like you.

We believe the use of TShellz Wraps^® for boosting blood flow to soft tissue in the area of application is one of the most under-utilized home treatment options available on the market today. We have client after client that have tried many options out there and have been amazed at how effective and fast the TShellz Wrap treatment can relieve pain and increase blood flow in the hip.

With regular use of the Back/Hip TShellz Wrap:

• Your pain due to soft tissue strain will be reduced*.
• Due to increased blood flow, soft tissue in the treatment area on the hip will be expected to recover at an accelerated rate. Increased extensibility of soft tissue due to the heat application will also help reduce the risk of worsening the injury while mobile*.
• Tissue in the treated area should experience a larger range of motion and increased extensibility of collagen tissue* due to the heat effect on soft tissue. This should translate into a reduced rate of re-injury occurrence as soft tissue is known to lengthen and become more flexible when exposed to warm temperature. (*Chapter 9 of "Therapeutic Heat and Cold", 4th edition. (amazon.com link - Ed. Justus F. Lehmann, M.D., Williams, and Wilkin)

Living with pain is never easy as it affects your entire lifestyle. Nothing is more important than making the proper decision when it comes to treating your muscle injury. Most methods only mask the problems or provide temporary relief; they do not treat the pain at its source.

MendMyHip stands out in this regard as our goal is to help you heal for the longer-term.

The bottom line is, you are welcome to try our products for a full 2 months. If you do not receive the benefits that others have experienced, call us to let us know you will return your purchase back to us and we will issue a prompt & full refund. There will be no hard feelings.

The fastest option you have to get our product into your hands as soon as possible is by placing your order online - at this very moment..

Or, Call Our Office. We are open Monday to Friday to allow you place an order over the phone. Simply call toll free 1-866-237-9608 to place an order with one of our knowledgeable Product Advisors. They have the ability to answer all your questions...ensuring you only receive the products you need.

If you choose to order through our online shop, know that we keep no credit card data on file. Once the transaction is completed, the credit information disappears from our internal systems.

As you can see, ordering from us is a very easy and safe process, no matter if choosing to order on-line or over the phone.

Are you still unsure about placing an order? let me address some questions that may causing some hesitation...

What is the success rate of the TShellz Wraps^®? Do they really work?

We try and keep in touch with a large percentage of our customers, and we encourage them to do the same. In doing so, we have received a lot of feedback as we have been in the business since 2008.

We can say that the return rate on our products is only around 5 to 10% any given month. That is exceptional by anyone's standards. Therefore, we can safely indicate that the overwhelming majority of people who purchase from us do achieve benefits with our products.

How much time do I need to dedicate for treatments? Are the products easy to use?

The TShellz Wraps^® are very easy devices to use. After one or two uses, you will engage in the treatments with ease. Very detailed instructions are included and you are always welcome to contact us by phone or email if the need for help arises.

In regards to the TShellz Wrap^®, it is ideal to use the device two or three times a day on average. Each treatment session is a maximum of 20 minutes in duration and the device will turn off automatically at that time. Typically, people use the TShellz Wrap^® before bed, upon awakening (or not long after) and one other time during the day when the opportunity presents itself. For people in an office setting, many will use the device at work (as it can be worn over clothing). For others, they will use the device an our or two after work.

A Cold Compress or Ice Pack is primarily used following activity that stresses the injured tissues (following work, after a sports activity, or just suffering a general re-injury). This is done to reduce inflammation and to minimize tissue damage. Treatments are 15 to 20 minutes in duration.

How long has MendMeShop been in business

We established our firm in December of 2005. Our track record in this field continues to grow and we plan on being around for many decades to come.

What is your return policy? Is it the standard 30 days?

We go above and beyond what other companies offer - we offer a full 60 day money back guarantee with no restocking fees.

Product Advisors are available 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time Monday to Friday.

I want to learn more about Hip Surgery & Post-Surgery Recovery

I want to learn more about Circulation Boost

I want to learn more about Ice & Heat: Which Is Better For The Hip?

I want to learn more about Trigger Points in the Hip

I want to learn more about Hip Surgery: Do I Need It?

During your recovery, you will probably have to modify and/or eliminate any activities that cause pain or discomfort at the location of your soft tissue injury until the pain and inflammation settle. Always consult your doctor and/or Physical Therapist before using any of our outstanding products, to make sure they are right for you and your condition. The more diligent you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results!