Can stability shoes make IT band syndrome worse?

It's possible! I'm a firm believer of "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." Experiment with neutral shoes again, or go and get re-evaluated for pronation. 7 or 8 months is probably past due for a new pair of trainers anyway if you're still in your first pair of 1170s.

Good luck!

There has always been a grest debate about this? But, if it started after you went into a stability shoe, that would certainly be an extrinsic factor that might have crontributed to the problem? If you have a tendency to supinate it would be compounded by the stability shoe. thus, putting alot of stress on the lateral side of your quads and hips.. I say go back to the softer shoe (cumulus) but keep rehabbing your injury.. have you gone to see a good podiatrist?

Good answers so far.

Yes, it is possible. Take your 1170's and an old pair of Cumulus to a good running specialty store and they should be able to give you some more definitive analysis.

My wife battled IT issues for 3 years. Went to get a new pair of shoes and the guy was like "why are you wanting a stability shoe? You supernate.". So he fit her in a netral. She has not had an issue with her IT since.

Go back to a neutral shoe. Don't worry about having anyone analyze you. Isn't that what got you into a stability shoe in the first place?

You will know if it works or not. Go with what works.

There has always been a grest debate about this? But, if it started after you went into a stability shoe, that would certainly be an extrinsic factor that might have crontributed to the problem? If you have a tendency to supinate it would be compounded by the stability shoe. thus, putting alot of stress on the lateral side of your quads and hips.. I say go back to the softer shoe (cumulus) but keep rehabbing your injury.. have you gone to see a good podiatrist?

I haven't been to a podiatrist, but I'm going to order a pair of Cumulus shoes soon. It didn't even dawn on me until a few days ago that maybe the shoes were causing my problems all along. There's no sure way for me to know that the shoes are the culprit, especially since I upped my mileage, but any type of injury I had came from when I started wearing the stability shoe. Back to the basics I come!

Just take your shoes off. That will answer all your questions.

I switched to stability when dealing with an Achilles issue but developed a ton of IT problems. After switching back to neutral when my Achilles was better my knee got better over a couple weeks.

Crazy as it sounds, this became clear to me when I played barefoot soccer after a run when my knee was really sore. Playing soccer it was fine - go figure.

The post in the shoe was pushing me out too far and putting unnecessary torque on my knee with each step.

I am a fan of a number of your posts, body master, but blanket statements like this make me cringe. You can't know that barefoot will work for every person regardless of situation and goals. I understand that in trying to show people a new way of thinking it's hard to say "Hey this might be ok sometimes, you should try it!", but isn't that a safer way to go about it?

I mean, you don't even offer any real advice. If I take my shoes off today, and run my regular 70 miles this week, will I really be better off?* Anyway, thanks for all of your great insight!

*I won't

I would ignore the shoe issue entirely. The 1170 provides so little support that it is close to a neutral shoe. The key, I suspect, is that you had your flare-up during a half marathon, and you didn't have these issues running low mileage. Hip weakness is a primary cause for ITB issues, particularly when runners insufficiently engage their gluteal muscles for support while the leg is underneath them. Runners who don't engage the glutes tend to engage the hip flexors and the ITB instead. You can get away with hip weakness when you are running low mileage, to a point. You probably hit that point during the half marathon. Get expert help on your hip strengthening efforts. You may be missing something, or just not working it hard enough. Personally, every time I get lax on my hip exercises, my ITB lets me know that it is time to get my focus back. Or else.

Most definitely. I battled IT Band issues for years because I was positive that I pronated and needed stability shoes. A few of my teammates told me I didn't need them and convinced me to go get properly fitted. Turns out I am an neutral as they come, with a slight propensity to supinate on my left foot. Been wearing neutral shoes ever since and have not had a single IT Band injury since then!

Anecdotal evidence: for me, motion control shoes make my IT band hurt, but going back to neutral shoes helps me recover.

SCIENCE! wrote:

I am a fan of a number of your posts, body master, but blanket statements like this make me cringe. You can't know that barefoot will work for every person regardless of situation and goals. I understand that in trying to show people a new way of thinking it's hard to say "Hey this might be ok sometimes, you should try it!", but isn't that a safer way to go about it?

I mean, you don't even offer any real advice. If I take my shoes off today, and run my regular 70 miles this week, will I really be better off?* Anyway, thanks for all of your great insight!

*I won't

Ah, lighten up. I'm just quoting Christopher McDougall.

But honestly, the fastest and best way to know if your stability shoe is causing IT Band problems is to go for a run barefoot. Or do a couple strides. If you find your IT band doesn't hurt then you know your shoes are the culprit.

I always go to hip and lower back strengthening if my itb even slightly twinges. And I only run in neutral, minimized shoes. NB 890v2 is the bulkiest shoe I'll wear and I go down to the NB trail slippers. I rarely barefoot. If I do it's on a football field. My feet are thenthitive!

Ally wrote:

Hi! I've been battling IT band flare ups for the past 7 or 8 months. It all started after I was recommended a pair of stability shoes (ASICS 1170). I just assumed it was my increase in mileage (I was training for a marathon). Since then I've done hip strengthening exercises which helped tremendously but I recently had another IT band flare up after a half marathon. Prior to switching to the 1170s I was wearing the ASICS Gel Cumulus. I wore those for awhile and never had injuries in them (my mileage was lower at the time too,though) but I'm thinking I should go back to the neutral shoes of the Cumulus. Any thoughts? Can stability shoes worsen IT band syndrome?

Few questions: Why did you switch or was recommended to a stability shoe?

How much mileage did you increase? Was the half marathon hilly? With that said, yes all those can contribute to your IT band problems. Find the source of your problem and you will get better, along w/strengthening hip/glute/core exercises and massage therapy.

Best of luck.