PROGRAM OVERVIEW: Welcome to the IT Band reset program. This is an 8-phase program that will guide you through progressive exercises to strengthen your IT Band(s) to help you overcome your recent injury. Each phase of this program is to be repeated multiple times (3-4) throughout a given week on non-consecutive days. Follow each phase for a minimum of 1-week prior to moving onto the next phase.

FOCUS: This program is designed to help you overcome IT Band pain and return to full performance. The early phases focus on pain reduction and mobility while also beginning to load your IT Band & knees in a gradual way. As you progress, the loading builds up and the focus shifts toward building stability, strength and resilience.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE: 8 Phases - You will perform the exercise routine from each phase for at least 1 week prior to moving on to the next phase. Follow our guidelines in each phase to know when you are ready to progress on to the next phase.

SESSION STRUCTURE: Each session is fully guided on the videos. The sessions will begin with mobility drills, then progress through stability & strength drills. In the videos we demonstrate most the drills only on the injured side but for maximum results we do recommend performing them on both sides.

EQUIPMENT: Foam roller, Miniband, Dumbbells (light to medium), Miniband, Long exercise band(s), Bench or chair

This program is for educational purposes only. You should consult your physician prior to engaging in this program.

Education

Dealing with an injury can be extremely painful and stressful. In most cases, returning to some amount of activity is helpful as it will help you bounce back faster and it will help you feel like you are still being active & productive. While being active, you want to get in the habit of asking yourself “is what I am doing productive for my injury, or will this set me back?”. By doing this you will learn your new limits and how to stay within them. For example, walking might not feel all that bad and therefore you should engage in some walking but it needs to be productive and should not lead to significant increase in pain afterward. Beginning with walking around the block is likely to be more productive than trying to walk for an hour for example. 

If you are a runner, you may be wondering whether you should stop or continue running. There is not one definitive answer to this. The best thing to do is to consider whether running is one of the things that really flares up your IT Band pain. If that is the case, then it is probably wise to take a break from running. But if your pain is rather staying the same with running and it is not too high to the point that it is changing the way you run, then it is probably okay to continue running. However, now is not the time to increase your mileage or add some intensity. If anything you should reduce your mileage.

Activity Modification

• Avoid or limit the most painful activities.

• Avoid prolonged sitting (more than 45-60min in the same position).

• Improve your sleep and reduce your stress level.

Progression Criteria

1. You have performed the phase 1 program three to four times per week for at least one week.

2. You can perform all exercises of phase 1 with minimal to no pain.

3. You have experienced a decrease in pain with your daily activities.

Education

Hopefully by now the pain is more tolerable and you are able to be more mobile. Continue to move within what you can tolerate and be mindful of your limits.

We would also like to highlight that there are multiple factors playing a role in injuries and some are more difficult to pinpoint. You may be following this program to the T and fail to improve by neglecting some of the basics. For example, we now know that people who sleep less than 8hrs a night are at greater risk of becoming injured. So if you sleep an average of 6 hrs a night, you may be preventing or significantly lengthening your healing process. The same goes for stress levels and poor nutrition. You need to do the basics well so that you can be successful with the things that will help your IT Band get better.

Activity Modification

• Continue to avoid or limit painful activities.

• Continue to avoid prolonged sitting (more than 45-60min in the same position).

• Optimize sleep and reduce stress level.

Progression Criteria

1. You performed phase 2 three to four times per week for at least one week.

2. You can perform all exercises of phase 2 with minimal to no pain.

3. You are noticing an obvious improvement in your pain intensity and frequency.

Education

Continue to move within what you can tolerate and be mindful of your limits.

Activity Modification

• Continue to avoid or limit painful activities.

• Continue to avoid prolonged sitting (more than 45-60min in the same position).

• Optimize sleep and reduce stress level.

Progression Criteria

1. You performed phase 2 three to four times per week for at least one week.

2. You can perform all exercises of phase 2 with minimal to no pain.

3. You are noticing an obvious improvement in your pain intensity and frequency.

Education

By now you should feel like your IT Band is becoming more resilient and not so prone to experience pain. That’s great but resist the urge to jump back too quickly into your previous activities as it takes time to build the necessary resilience in your tissue so that it can handle the loads you place on them.

As the exercises become more challenging, it becomes ever so important to give yourself enough time to master them and also give time for your IT Bands to adapt to the load placed on them. We want you to spend at least one week on each phase but it can easily be longer than that. In some cases where the pain is chronic, it may take up to 4-5 weeks to complete the later phases. Be patient and use the progression criteria to guide you.

Activity Modification

• Avoid/limit provocative activities.

• Continue to avoid prolonged sitting (more than 45-60min in the same position).

• Maintain sleep hygiene and stress reduction.

Progression Criteria

1. You performed phase 4 three to four times per week for at least one week.

2. You can perform all exercises, sets, & reps of phase 4 with minimal to no pain.

3. You have minimal to no pain with stairs (up or down)

Education

We need you to hold yourself accountable for the quality of your reps and movements. We will always prioritize quality over quantity and we want you doing the same. Please take any extra rest that you need in order to accomplish this.

Activity Modification

• Avoid/limit provocative activities.

• Continue to avoid prolonged sitting (more than 45-60min in the same position).

• Maintain sleep hygiene and stress reduction.

Progression Criteria

1. You performed phase 5 three to four times per week for at least one week.

2. You have no post-exercise pain after the session.

3. You are able to maintain perfect form with all exercises.

Education

We want you to start envisioning life after this program and your injury. We highly recommend and urge you to continue a consistent mobility and recovery routine. This routine does not have to be as specific to your IT Band as this one, nor does it have to be as long or frequent. We want you to make the connection that all this hard work helped get you out of pain, and continuing some of the hard work will help keep you out of pain. Please check out our Recovery Resources to help you with this transition.

Activity Modification

• Maintain good sleep and stress hygiene.

• Gradual return to running.

• Gradual return to provocative activities with caution.

Progression Criteria

1. You performed phase 6 three to four times per week for at least one week.

2. You are able to maintain perfect form with all exercises.

3. You have no post-exercise pain after the session or after reintroducing running (or other activities that were previously avoided).

Education

Mobility work is now at a minimum but that does not mean it is unimportant. Mobility, just like strength and fitness, is not acquired and needs regular maintenance work.

Activity Modification

• Maintain good sleep and stress hygiene.

• Continuing to return to running & other provocative activities with caution.

• Start envisioning, organizing, and preparing for your next phase of training - injury free

Progression Criteria

1. You performed phase 7 three to four times per week for at least one week.

2. You are able to maintain perfect form with all exercises.

3. You are pain free.

Education

You have done all this work to get back to what you love and now is time to capitalize on your success and continue with your performance journey. This should include regular strength training and recovery work. Please check out the wide range of sports specific programs we have available to keep you healthy and performing at your best.

Activity Modification

• Maintain good sleep and stress hygiene.

• Gradually increase the intensity back into your running & other activities with caution.

• Continue your well balanced training routine with a combination of regular strength training and recovery work.

Progression Criteria

1. You performed phase 8 three to four times per week for at least one week.