Can it be ITBS if it doesn't hurt when running downhill? Or is this the start of a slow decline into osteoarthritis?

Does it hurt more at night?

Yeah it progressively gets worse throughout the day

IT band syndrome is a very stubborn injury that can persist for months if you do do not give it the proper rest and strengthening. I am sorry but it sounds like all the running you are continuing to do is likely irritating it. Given your age and even taking into account your situation, osteoarthritis of the knee is very unlikely. However, anouther more likely cause of your pain could be a lateral meniscus tear. Your symptoms with pain when sitting cross legged, cracking and a deep joint pain could be due to a lateral meniscus tear. However, knee injuries can be very tricky to self- diagnose.

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The symptoms look a lot like ITBS, though if you want to be sure, visit a doctor and a physio to get a proper diagnosis. ITBS should be visible on ultrasound and MRI, although sometimes it can be diagnosed only by symptomes.

I can share with you briefly my ITBS story and how I managed to deal with it (still hoping it will never come back!). At the beginning of the year I started feeling mid sharp pain on the outside of my left knee, it appeared everytime after the same distance - +/- 3km. At first I tried to ignore it and hope it will fade away by itself, however it started to be more and more intense. I googled the symptomes and it looked like ITBS, BUT I did not have this area swollen and also felt no pain when pressing. I visited a doctor and a physio - both of them diagnosed me with ITBS immediately. I was told to rest, foam roll the IT band and do some proper strenghtening of my gluteus muscles. So at first I took 3 weeks off running, doing 2x a day foam rolling and once a day 40 min of core excercises and stretching. During this time I was also visiting my physio regularly (3 times a week) for an anti inflammation laser therapy. After this time I tried to go for a run...and came home frustrated, as the pain did not disappear at all. I took next 4 weeks off and kept on doing my core excercises, stretching and foam rolling. I was already mad at this situation as I wanted to come back to running so badly. After 4 weeks I did my second running attempt and the history repeated itself - pain appeared after exactly 3 kms...no need to explain that I was mentally exhausted from battling this stubborn injury, I did not understand what am I doing wrong? Will it ever go away? I went to see my doctor again to report him that, despite doing everything I was told to do, I see literally NO improvement at all. My doctor told me that we can try the platelet-rich plasma injections with ultrasound monitoring - I was desperate to end this nightmare so I agreed. After the procedure I needed to rest 3 more weeks (it was already April...) and after that try slowly to return to running. I think the injections helped me a lot - after resting I started coming back veeeery slowly and the pain did not disappear immediately. It just started to fade away gradually, so I was able to run 4 km pain-free, 2 weeks after 5 km and so on...now I am hitting 10km and I am still very cautios cause I don't want to start all over again.

Good luck with battling this stubborn injury!

Get your hip alignment checked- itbs is usually caused by hip instability.

Mary9385 has given a classic ITBS story. Your description sounds very much like the same condition. It's extremely stubborn and usually requires significant rest, as well as proper stretching and strengthening, to overcome it. Stop trying to run through it. It won't work, and will likely make it worse and longer lasting.

Get to a doctor or physio when you can.

Ice to relieve the inflammation and pain.

Look up IT band stretches, and work on them consistently.

Also look up strengthening for glutes, abductors, and adductors. Weakness in these groups are often the underlying cause.

Good luck!

jazzytherunner wrote:

I...Given your age and even taking into account your situation, osteoarthritis of the knee is very unlikely. However, anouther more likely cause of your pain could be a lateral meniscus tear. Your symptoms with pain when sitting cross legged, cracking and a deep joint pain could be due to a lateral meniscus tear. However, knee injuries can be very tricky to self- diagnose.

I agree, not likely osteo arthritis. OA is generally worse in the morning upon waking and eases up throughout the day as the body warms up and gentle movement moves fluids in and out of the joint.

I would suggest take a break from running, switch to whatever cardio is pain free: biking, rowing, swimming. You're young, you will recapture your fitness quickly! Foam rolling has helped my IT issues, but mine was pretty minor.

Thanks for your help!

thanks for your help, just wondering, can it be ITBS if its not quite on the side, but on the inner part of the knee, off to the side of the patella? thanks again