Foam rolling over the ITB

Can I foam roll my ITB?

No! In a recent study (Hall & Smith 2018) results showed that there was no clinically significant increase in hip or knee range of motion when foam rolling over the ITB itself. However, with just a single bout of foam rolling over the contractile tissue (the glute muscles), there was a 15% improvement in range of motion, as apposed to just a tiny 2% difference (which is not clinically significant) when rolling the ITB itself.

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Figure 1: Hip and Knee Pain - ITB Tightness - Physio Frenchs Forest, Physio Macquarie Park

What is foam rolling?

The ITB is made up of only dense connective tissue and has NO muscle fibres (it cannot move or tense). At the hip, it blends with the tensor fascia latae (TFL) and the gluteus maximus muscle (they can move and tense). The contractile elements of these muscles, pull on the fascia (ITB) to help with extension/abduction and ER of the hip. The fascia cannot alter its length, probably because it has no motor neurons, and therefore any changes in ITB range of motion are from the muscular adaptions rather than trying to remove fascial adhesions or altering in fascial length.

Why could rolling my ITB make my knee pain worse?

If you are or think you are suffering from ITB Syndrome (ITBS) which is a pain on the outside of your knee, foam rolling over that site does not make sense! The distal attachment of the ITB exerts a compressive force on the side of the knee joint when the fascia tightens – so if it’s already feeling tight and sore, don’t add more compression.

 

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Figure 1: Hip and Knee Pain - ITB Tightness - Physio Frenchs Forest, Physio Macquarie Park

What should I do instead of foam rolling?

  • Rolling/trigger pointing through the contractile structures (glute med/min/max/TFL).

  • Rolling through your lateral hamstring/lateral quadricep

  • See a physio! There is probably a reason why you are experiencing symptoms of a tight ITB and whether it be strengthening or stretching or motor control modification, it’s a Physiotherapists job to work that out and fix accordingly

See our expert Physiotherapy team at Frenchs Forest and Macquarie Park!

References:

Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2018 Aug; 13(4): 652–660. Fredericson M Wolf C. Iliotibial band syndrome in runners – Innovations and treatment. Sports Med.2005;35(5):451-459.

MacGregor Hall, J. Chadwick Smith The Effects of an acute bout of foam rolling on hip range of motion on different tissues.

Reece Jones