Rehabiliting Myself from the IT Band Syndrome

Never thought that I would become injured from sports especially from running this bad. After all I have never been so serious in any kind of sports before. But running is different. It has become something that I am so passionate about to the extent of browsing and spending countless hours on websites about running and shoes other than participating in running events almost every weekend.

The injury that I got is called Iliotibial band syndrome or ITBs for short. It is known to happen to runners from overusing their IT band. Hill trainings were understood to be the reason behind the overuse..Up and down multiple times the Kiara Hills had really taken its tolls on my knee. May be also due to the way I land. My right foot is slightly knocked to the right, so whenever I land, the heel will pull the IT band to stabilise it. Repeated pulls had resulted in the IT band becoming inflamed. The Illiotibial band is a thick piece of connective tissue that runs parallel to the femur from the hip to the knee. It attaches along piece of tendon called the gluteus maximus and tensor fasciae latae on the side of the hip and connects on the lateral side of the tibia. One of its major functions is to stabilize the knee while running. IT band syndrome is diagnosed when pain presents at the insertion point of the IT band on the outside of the knee, typically caused by compression due to an abnormal movement pattern of the femur

My right foot has a slighly knocked knee structure, as a result, when I land, it takes a bit of control not to land too much on the inside so as to pull the IT band inwards..

IT Band Insertion Point from Gerdy Tubercule

Strong Core is Necessary To Hold the Pelvis in Place and unnecessary stretch to the IT Band. Imagine the band being pulled for thousands of time over a 2-hour period (My Half Marathon Timing)

So as a result, I have to take a break from running for almost 6 weeks. My last run was at the Twitterthon 2015 back in 25 April 2015. That was the last straw as my knee really felt sore after that even after taking the painkiller (naproxen sodium) for me to participate in Hulu Langat Trail run 2015. Then came the long weekend where I had to become the wali for my sister's wedding in Johor. Soon after, I just thought the best way forward is to see a sports doctor. Sadly, I have to miss KL Towerthon Challenge 2015 in the process.

In National newspaper, Utusan Malaysia and Harian Metro for this short 5k Twitterthon run in Putrajaya. Managed to get myself in the top 15 position :)

I got treated by Dr. Samsudin Cassim from Gleneagles KL. A very nice and softspoken doctor indeed. After looking and doing some assessment, he suspected a potential miniscus tear/osteoarthritis and he suggested an MRI test to confirm this. In my mind, this shouldn't be the case as my knee can still assume full flexibility but just some nagging pain across the middle and side of the knee.

After the MRI on my knee, I found that that I got the ITB syndrome. At first I though this kind of injury occurred only on your thigh and not on your knee, but actually, the band stretches all the way from your glute/pelvis down to your knee where it holds your fibia. This is where the problem is. It has gotten inflamed and the inflamation did not subside after so many weeks. So Dr. Samsudin suggested a physiotherapy and a total break from running for 6 weeks which I duly comply.

First session of physiotherapy was at DBC Physiotherapy centre at Ampwalk, Jalan Ampang. I was given the pain management treatment of laser therapy. At first it felt light after the treatment, then the pain came back the next day. I was so desperate for a fast recovery. This has resulted in my intense attempt flipping through the pages on the internet for that magic cure.

My search led to a Transdermal Glucosamine Cream called TGC Cream produced by Lynkbiotech. It really felt great after the firs rub and I got addicted to it. Basically it is more effective than popping in glucosamine pills. I rub it on my knee 3 times a day and the pain just keeps on reducing day by day. Then I thought about my mom who also had knee problem due to osteoarthritis, so I bought another 3 tubes. You can actually buy this at their TGC Cream website.

Then on day 3, I can still feel that the pain still did not totally go away and all I wanted was to run at the weekend for Melawati 10k run. So I needed something more powerful. That search led to my trying Chinese Medicinal oil. Tjin Koo Lin (below). I was going through the internet and looking for a Chinese Senseh shop in Kuala Lumpur and landed on a page where the blog talked about a shop called Kedai Ubat Kian Yin off Jalan Landak in Pudu. Call me crazy, but around lunch time I was there and it's the uncle who gave me the magical TJIN KOO LIN. It contains the recipe that was passed down for generations from the old Kungfu Grandmaster. Whatever it is, it works. I felt the impact right after applying it for the first time. I put it on my knees 3 times a day together with TGC cream. Double the effect.. hehe.. Yup it works and the pain/inflammation has reduced now at a faster pace.

Not enough with the two, TGC and Tjin Koo Lin, I also take tablets. Hurix's Ginseng Plus capsule that contains Radix and all other sorts of pain relieving chinese traditional herbs. I got this from a Guardian store. After 1 week of all these, the pain totally gone and just yesterday, I have started running continuously for 1 km. Yeay..My first comeback run will be the Reach Out Run in Putrajaya on 16 June 2015.