Iliotibial Band

I was pretty sure that the injury on the outside of my right thigh was a bursa, because it was recovering so quickly.  However Katie, my therapist, says there are no bursas in the area of my injury.  After a quick internet search, I believe her.

Katie is convinced that the injury is simply an irritation of the Iliotibial band (ITB) as it passes by that area, about a third of the way down the thigh, on its trip from the pelvis to the tibia.  Katie didn't call it "iliotibial band syndrome," but I think that might be a proper technical name.

This is an overuse injury.  I worked pretty hard on Monday, running a full mile without walking, for the first time in years, plus four more miles of run/walk.  Then on Tuesday the girls and I walked six miles with backpacks, including over 300 feet of elevation change, down to the river and back.  The injury first made itself felt during the climb back up.  Katie guessed that before I even told her.

One lesson:  I'm 76 years old and I really do need to allow for an off day between two days of vigorous exercise, even if one of them is only walking.  Lesson two:  Uphill (and maybe downhill) walking may put as much stress on the legs as running on the flat.

Katie also gave me three more exercises to do, therapy which may help prevent this type of injury in the future.

What's next?  Happily, the pain is almost gone already.  Tomorrow I'll go for an easy walk.  Maybe Sunday too.  Katie said I could run a bit on Monday, distance and intensity guided by the pain (lack of).  Sounds good to me - I'm anxious to get back on the trail.  I'll ramp up carefully.