Disclaimer: This blog post is by no means meant to diagnosis a condition or prescribe any remedies. If you are having health issues, you may want to consider getting checked out by a licensed medical professional.
Stilettos and high heels are kryptonite to a runner’s iliotibial band (aka the IT band). It is only by a friend’s challenge to go without wearing high heels for one week that I learned about this little correlation.
The IT band is a ligament that is on the outside of the thigh, from the hips to the shins. The ligament can get tight, irritated and inflamed. IT band syndrome is supposedly one of the most common injuries in runners. When the IT band gets to acting up, this can make running very uncomfortable. There are several different ways to treat IT band syndrome, including rest, ice and anti-inflammatory medicines. Some folks also use holistic remedies such as stretching, rolling, cupping (one of my favorites) and massage.
Since February of this year I’d been dealing with IT band syndrome. This was right around the time when my marathon training and long distance runs were ramping up. The IT band usually only became bothersome on runs longer than 6 miles. On top of that, it was slowing down my pace and making long runs uncomfortable.
At home, I tried ice and anti-inflammatory medicine with a little results. The pain got to the point where I went to get checked out by a sports medicine doctor. He said the irritation could be a result of my core being too weak and not doing enough stretching pre and post runs. He recommended I swap out some of my shorter runs with cross training exercises and referred me to a physical therapist for a follow-up.
The physical therapist studied my running mechanics including gait, stride and a whole bunch of other technical stuff. She also said that me being knocked kneed probably didn’t help. In the end, she prescribed a host of stretching exercises, core work to help strength my abdominal muscles and back, plus recommended I try foam rolling to release the IT band.
So I did all of the above plus added in cross training workouts by attending fitness bootcamp classes [READ: #RapOnTheRun: Fitness Boot Camp Day One: The 7 Minute Fitness Test]. I also occasionally worked out inside the gym on the elliptical machine [READ: #RapOnTheRun: Sometimes You Just Have To Netflix Through It]. I even went to get massages and tried cupping. All of the above helped and some of the pain went away, but the irritation still flared up regularly, during runs and sometimes just because.
During this entire time of going to boot camp classes, doing stretching exercises and running regularly, I was wearing stilettos and high heels regularly. By regularly I mean five days a week for at least six hours a day. Shawty, I love heels. The higher the heel, the better!
A bit over a month ago, I was challenged by a friend to go an entire week without wearing high heels. No stilettos, no pumps and nothing with a heel over 2 inches. For someone who thinks heels can help take an outfit from basic to super fly, I thought this was going to be difficult!
At the end of the week of wearing no heels or stilettos, I went out for a 10 mile run. It wasn’t until the run was over that I realized that not once during the run, did my IT band or knee feel uncomfortable. I didn’t have to take any anti-inflammatory medication either.
This little breakthrough really interested me. No high heels, no pain? So I challenged myself to experiment with going a whole 30 days of wearing no heels. I continued to wear heels for special events, but for no longer than an hour. That only occurred twice. I also kept with the stretching exercises, rolling and massages.
The result of this 30 day experiment? No knee pain or uncomfortable feeling in my legs during runs or after runs. Yesterday I went out for a 15 mile run and did my rolling regimen as usual afterwards. Again, no irritation during the run and today I feel fine.
Y’all know what I find extremely funny about this whole experiment? Not once did the sports medicine physician or physical therapist ask about what type of shoes worn on a regular basis. They both did ask if I wore running shoes for training (yes), but never was I asked about heels. Then I began wondering if this is just something I experienced. So I turned to Google and came across several articles about the link between wearing high heels and IT band syndrome, including this one.
So now what? I still love stilettos and high heels. My next marathon is coming this Fall, so I’m going to be mindful of not wearing heels everyday for several hours at time until that race is finished.
What about y’all? Have you ever experienced the connection between wearing stilettos, high heels and the IT band? I’d like to hear from you and read your comments.
Y’all can connect to me via Twitter (@nancioishiphop), Instagram (@nancioishiphop), Facebook (Nanci O Is Hip Hop) and the blog for all running updates.
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