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3 Most Aggressive IT Band Stretches To Stop Pain Fast
- chelsie462
- Jul 31
- 9 min read
This article is a transcribed, edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August 2024. For the original video, go to https://youtu.be/PJYGIlht6E4
Brad: All right, we're going to talk about the IT band and how to get rid of pain as a result of a tight IT band.
Mike: We're going to go through three options that have been field tested by me, Bob, and patients we've had, and we're going to share them all with you.
Brad: That's right, so get ready. We've got some good information today. We've decided to have Sam volunteer for a little anatomy lesson on the IT band. So the ileum is right here, and the green represents the IT band, which is a wide band. It is very thin, but very strong. Goes down to the side of the tibia and connects there. It helps stabilize your body, your pelvis when you walk, run, etc. Now it is important to realize that this IT band comes up and actually connects to muscle fibers up in the hip.
Mike: So on the posterior side, your backside, it connects to your glute muscles, your glute medius, and your glute max, so your buttock muscles. In the front, it connects to your TFL.
Brad: Tensor fascia latae. That's a smaller muscle toward the front of the hip. And knowing that is important. It can be helpful as well. Let's go to three nice stretches for this first. All right, the nice thing about having options to stretch this IT band is, it's different for different people. The first stretch is very comfortable and can be done lying down on the floor or in bed. Mike, go ahead and show it, and this actually is Bob's favorite way to stretch his TF, and take it away, Mike. I'm talking too much.
Mike: You are. So the left leg is the one I'm going to be stretching here. I'm going to start by crossing over, putting my ankle in my knee. Then I'm going to let my knee fold down and relax. If you're feeling a stretch here, that's perfectly fine. Just stay here. For most people, they're probably going to feel okay if they have IT band syndrome. So what you're going to do is bring your other knee towards your chest, and this is going to start stretching a lot more. Just go to what is comfortable. You should feel a good pulling stretch. Breathe through it, relax, hold for 15 to 30 seconds, and you can repeat this two to three times.
Brad: Very good. Nice, nice work, Mike. Now, this may not work for some people, or they may not tolerate it in their hip joint, or if you've had a hip replacement, but if you don't want to do it, one of the other ones will work out better for you.
Mike: Now this next IT band stretch is the one I personally do. I actually got it from Athlean X. He's a physical therapist on YouTube, so I want to give credit where it's due. Now I do this at a countertop, so it's a little bit higher, and this is fairly aggressive, so if you feel like you can do it, give it a try. Otherwise, stick to the other ones. I'm going to be stretching my left IT band here. So I'm going to put my left side on the countertop. I'm going to kick my left leg out straight behind my right leg. As I go further out, I want to try to get my trunk as upright as I can, not feeling much stretch here. Once I drop that pelvis, get my trunk upright, I feel a really good stretch. Now, once I'm here, I like to kind of noodle around, maybe go backwards a little more, forward, wherever you feel the stretch. And I hold it here for roughly 30 seconds. Not going to lie, it's a little uncomfortable, but once I'm done, I feel really good.
Brad: So this is something that you have actually done to increase your ability to run or even walk when you had a real tight problem?
Mike: Yes, I do a lot of distance running, and I have had some IT band issues. Some of it was originally for my TFL. Now I feel it more in my glutes. But this stretch has really helped alleviate the issues I've had.
Brad: And I think it's important for this bottom leg to stay straight and not flex that knee. Is that correct, Mike?
Mike: Yep, so you want to have a nice straight leg. Again, 15, 30 seconds come back up. I just do it a couple of times periodically throughout the day because personally, I'd rather spread it out than do it all at once.
Brad: There you go. Now the third one is aggressive, but not like this. So it's a good one, a good option between the three. It really mixes it up. Let's get to that. Okay, the third stretch can be done in a seated position in a chair, a firm chair, or in long sitting, which means you're sitting like Mike is. Now this stretch is actually brought to my attention by a person who did a lot of running, and his hip and knee, particularly the knee, became so painful, it was hard for him to even walk. He went to a therapist, showed him this specific exercise, and he said within two weeks, he was back to running pain-free. And he attributed it all to this exercise. In a seated position, if the left leg is involved with a tight IT band, you're going to go up like this. So the ankle is above the knee joint, grab here. Now we're not going to twist the back. We're going to bring the knee to the opposite shoulder. You can grab and pull with both hands. You're going to hold 15 to 30 seconds. Make sure you breathe and relax. You're not going, aah, holding your breath. Nice, relax, stretch. Stretching is always better when you're relaxed and breathing deeply. Mike, you want to talk about that position?
Mike: Same concept, I'm going to cross over. So my ankle's roughly going to go around my knee joint. I'm going to pull this side towards my right shoulder here. Again, I'm not twisting or turning. I need an arm for support so I can stay in this position like this. And again, just breathe, and you should feel a good pull.
Brad: I'm going to show a nice option to make sure you don't twist. Just simply sit down back against the wall here. And this can be a really nice way to ensure you have good, proper mechanics. I feel that nicely in there.
Brad: All right, I have to do the other leg just to balance myself. Okay, we do have one more thing that I mentioned earlier in the video, and that's to address those tight, knotted muscles, if that's part of the problem, up in the hip. Okay, now we're going to talk about, as I mentioned earlier, addressing the tight muscles that connect directly to the IT band in the hip area. A massage gun works very well. I have a family member who uses this on her tight IT band, and it works very well. So I would use nothing larger than a gun this size or a smaller gun, like Mike has, they call them the minis. This is the C2, and that's our?
Mike: This is the AIR2, and that's the C2 Pro.
Brad: Oh, thank you. So I would start out, if you just start with a round head or the air head, which we have supplied with all of ours. I'll show you lying down, where I would start. This is comfortable. Mike has much more experience with his. He'll tell you about a more advanced method. I like to expose the glute maximus, and I'll get in with this round head, and I'll work this, either straight in. If that's too aggressive, work it at an angle. That's the big advantage of using the round head. You're going to work that muscle. It should feel good. If you hit a tender spot and it hurts, stay away from that. You can work it to the side, get in that glute medius, and then even the TFL, which is about where you put your hand in your pocket, more in the front. Just make sure you didn't get into your femoral crease, because you do have some lymph nodes there. You do not want to massage lymph nodes. I would spend at least three to five minutes working. That should feel good. And after you get done, you should feel those muscles relaxed. Mike, talk about how you do it.
Mike: So you can do this in a standing position. I've done it lying down, I've done it seated wherever I am. Personally, the round head is good, especially for beginners or if you're over the bony areas. Once you feel more advanced, I like the trigger point massage head.
Brad: I call it the bullet head.
Mike: The bullet head, and pick whichever area. Don't go directly on the bone with this. It'll feel very uncomfortable. For some people, the TFL region will be enough. If I'm doing that, I actually kind of like to stand up, get it in a little bit of a stretch position because I can get it a little easier, and I'll massage that region in the front of my hip. If I'm targeting my glutes, just find the area where I find that trigger point. If I'm up here, I don't notice much. If I get down here behind the femur region, I really start to feel that. For this one, I kind of do what Brad does and stretch a little bit, and then I really feel that. So this is what I like to do if I'm a little painful in the region, just get some nice blood flow and get the fashion moving around. And usually afterwards, I feel pretty good.
Brad: Now, some people ask, can't we massage right on the IT band itself? And you can. You can try and see how it goes. But you have to be careful because right below that is your femur. There's not a lot of muscle on the side. I would use the round head or the airhead. You can do that as long as it feels good and it feels good during and afterwards.
Brad: So I think now all three of these have been field-tested. We've got testimonies on them with great success. I would highly recommend working with these and having good success. Mike, is there something else we have?
Mike: If you're still having some hip pain and you're not sure if it's actually IT band, you can check out our video "STOP HIP Pain; Best 5 Stretches For Over 55." These are five hip stretches to stop your pain.
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