Foam Rolling the lateralis

Becasue the iliotibial (IT) band is basically a giant ligament, see little elastic ability, one way we address lateral hip/quad tightness is by rolling the fascia of the lateralis (outside muscle of the quad)

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• foam
• roll
• lateralis
• soft
• tissue
• flexibility
• quad

[simlucien]

But the goal of this modality od myofacial release is not to put pressure on the IT Band itself, it is to address the soft tissue structures around the ITB, namely the lateralis to minimize knee pain. When combined with soft tissue work/trigger point therapy on the lateral gluteal muscles, posterior chain strengthening, lateral knee pain reduces and performance improves. If a person is THAT, bad I'd refer them to the appropriate specialists (PT, AT) as it would be outside my scope of practice.

[renumeratedfrog]

I was referring to the ITBS (Iliotibial Band Syndrome) which is a common injury in runners. When the ITBS is at its worst, the ligament rubbing against the bone is inflamed, and it's not a good idea to put additional stress on it like that. Once the inflamation goes away, then it's OK to screw around with it.

[simlucien]

Could you explain the "inflammation" you are talking about? If you mean fascial scar tissue and adhesions from repeated muscular and joint positions, then the "stress" of the foam roller helps to break that up. Its like adding sports massage to an athlete who doesn't have the time, money, and thearapists to be treated several times a week.

Thanks for the comment.

[renumeratedfrog]

Interesting technique. However, it's probably not a good idea to put additonal stress on the area which is already inflamed. It's like adding insult to an injury.