IT Band Pain in Coventry: Could the Way You Walk or Run Be Contributing?
If you’ve developed an aching or sharp pain on the outside of your knee, particularly when walking, running or exercising, you may have heard the term IT band pain.
It’s a common problem in runners and active people. But it can also affect people who simply want to walk comfortably, exercise regularly or stay active as they get older.
And although the pain is usually felt around the knee, the knee isn’t necessarily the whole story.
At Coventry Foot Doctor, we look at how your feet, ankles, knees and hips work together when you stand, walk and run. Sometimes, the way your body moves can contribute to repeated stress around the outside of the knee.
So, could your walking or running pattern be playing a part?
What Is the IT Band?
The iliotibial band — usually shortened to the IT band — is a strong band of tissue that runs down the outside of your thigh, from around your hip to your knee.
It helps provide stability when you walk and run.
When the tissues around the outside of the knee become irritated, you may develop a problem commonly known as IT band syndrome or IT band pain.
For some people, it begins as a mild niggle.
They carry on running or walking, expecting it to disappear.
Unfortunately, that niggle can sometimes turn into pain that appears at roughly the same point during every run or long walk.
What Does IT Band Pain Feel Like?
IT band pain is commonly felt on the outside of the knee.
You might notice:
An ache or sharp pain on the outer side of the knee
Pain that develops during running
Discomfort after walking longer distances
Pain when going up or down stairs
Symptoms when walking or running downhill
Tenderness around the outside of the knee
Pain that settles with rest but returns when you're active again
Symptoms can vary from person to person.
And importantly, not every pain on the outside of the knee is caused by the IT band.
That’s why getting the problem properly assessed can be useful, especially when it keeps coming back.
Why Does IT Band Pain Develop?
There isn’t always one single cause.
Often, it’s a combination of your activity levels, training habits, strength, footwear and the way your body moves.
For example, symptoms may appear after suddenly increasing your running distance, changing your training routine or doing more hills than usual.
But your movement pattern may also be worth investigating.
Your feet are the first point of contact with the ground. What happens there can influence movement further up the leg.
That doesn’t mean that every knee problem is caused by your feet.
It does mean that when knee pain keeps returning, it can be helpful to look at the whole movement chain rather than the painful area alone.
Could the Way You Walk Be Contributing?
When you walk, your body performs thousands of small movements.
Your foot meets the ground, your ankle moves, your leg rotates, your knee bends and your hip helps control your body.
Normally, this happens without you thinking about it.
But differences in foot position, joint movement, muscle function or stability can change the way forces travel through the leg.
Over hundreds or thousands of steps, those repeated forces may become important.
This is why simply looking at somebody's knee while they’re sitting on an examination couch doesn't always tell the whole story.
Sometimes we need to see what happens when they actually stand, walk or run.
What About Running?
Running increases the demands placed on the body.
Each stride is repeated again and again, which means relatively small movement or training issues can become much more noticeable over distance.
Imagine a runner completes several thousand steps during a run.
A movement that happens once probably isn't particularly interesting.
Repeat it thousands of times, however, and the story can change.
Factors such as training load, running technique, strength, footwear and lower-limb mechanics may all need to be considered when assessing persistent running-related pain.
This is particularly important if you've rested, returned to running and found that exactly the same pain comes back again.
Rest may calm irritated tissues.
It doesn't necessarily tell you why the problem developed in the first place.
Your Feet, Knees and Hips Work as a Team
One of the reasons musculoskeletal problems can be frustrating is that the place where you feel pain isn't always the only area worth examining.
The body works as a connected system.
The way your foot interacts with the ground can influence the ankle. Movement at the ankle can affect the knee. The hip and muscles around the pelvis also play an important role in controlling the leg.
This connection is particularly relevant to podiatric biomechanics.
Our clinical lead's own interest in biomechanics began after experiencing significant knee pain as a young athlete. After seeing several healthcare professionals, an assessment of the way he walked eventually led to devices being fitted inside his shoes. He noticed a significant change in the way he walked and his symptoms subsequently improved.
That experience helped inspire a career-long interest in the relationship between the feet, movement and problems elsewhere in the body.
How Can a Podiatrist Assess IT Band Pain?
At Coventry Foot Doctor, the aim isn't simply to look at the painful spot and send you away with generic advice.
For musculoskeletal problems, an assessment may consider factors such as:
Where and when your pain occurs
Your activity and training history
Foot and ankle function
Lower-limb movement
Walking or running patterns
Footwear
Previous injuries
Factors that make the symptoms better or worse
The purpose is to build a clearer picture of why you may be experiencing the problem.
Coventry Foot Doctor's approach to patient care is based around listening, understanding the problem and taking action to find an appropriate solution, with a particular focus on musculoskeletal care, mobility and helping people remain active.
Can Gait Analysis Help?
For some patients, analysing the way they walk or run can provide useful information.
Gait analysis simply means assessing the way you move when walking or running.
Rather than guessing what your feet and legs are doing, an assessment can help identify movement patterns that may be relevant to your symptoms.
The important point is that gait analysis shouldn't be considered in isolation.
Your symptoms, history, strength, joint movement, activity levels and other findings all need to be considered together.
The goal isn't to create a supposedly "perfect" walking or running style.
It's to understand your movement and whether anything relevant may be contributing to your pain.
How Is IT Band Pain Treated?
Treatment should depend on what the assessment finds.
For one person, training load may be the biggest issue. For somebody else, footwear, strength or movement patterns may deserve more attention.
Management can therefore involve changes to activity, rehabilitation and strengthening, footwear advice, and addressing relevant biomechanical factors.
In appropriate cases, orthoses may also be considered.
An orthosis is a device worn inside the shoe that can alter how forces are distributed through the foot and lower limb. It isn't automatically the answer for every patient with IT band pain, which is why assessment comes first.
The aim should be to address the factors relevant to you, rather than simply treating every painful knee in exactly the same way.
Should You Stop Running?
Not necessarily.
If running is painful, reducing or temporarily changing the activity may be sensible while the problem is assessed.
But for many active people, the ultimate goal isn't simply to tell them to stop doing what they enjoy.
It's to understand the problem and develop a sensible route back to activity.
After all, being told, "Don't run if running hurts," might technically stop the running pain.
It's considerably less useful if running is the thing you love doing.
When Should You Get IT Band Pain Checked?
Consider seeking professional assessment if your pain:
Keeps returning when you exercise
Is getting progressively worse
Is affecting normal walking
Stops you from running or playing sport
Hasn't improved despite reducing your activity
Returns whenever you increase your training again
And if you have severe pain, significant swelling, an inability to bear weight, locking or giving way of the knee, or symptoms following a significant injury, seek appropriate medical assessment promptly.
Looking for Help With IT Band Pain in Coventry?
Persistent knee pain can be frustrating, particularly when it keeps stopping you from exercising or enjoying the activities you love.
Sometimes focusing only on the painful knee may miss useful information about what's happening elsewhere.
At Coventry Foot Doctor, our musculoskeletal approach considers how your feet and lower limbs function together, with the aim of helping patients maintain their mobility, independence and ability to stay active. The clinic's stated focus includes providing non-surgical options where appropriate and helping patients find solutions to musculoskeletal problems.
If you're struggling with IT band pain in Coventry, recurring outer knee pain, or discomfort when walking or running, a biomechanical assessment may help identify factors worth addressing.
Book an assessment with Coventry Foot Doctor and let’s take a closer look at the way you move — not just where it hurts.
