Does Foam Rolling the ITB do Anything?

If you’ve ever tried foam rolling your iliotibial band (IT Band), you’ve probably learned that it hurts like hell

And maybe you’ve even heard that foam rolling the ITB doesn’t do anything

“To hell with it then! It hurts” – You think

Well hold on…not so fast.

There are conflicting ideas floating around regarding the ITB and what foam rolling it actually doesThe confusion comes from people thinking that foam rolling the ITB is changing the elasticity of the ITB ITSELF

Now THAT is not entirely true.

You can’t generate enough force with your body weight on a foam roller to meaningfully change the ELASTICITY of the ITB

But what you ARE DOING, is breaking up fascial adhesions that yank and tug on the ITB and surrounding muscles as your leg moves

In the image above, you can see a miscellaneous bunch of tissue.

Those white streaks represent fascial adhesions

There are many different reasons these adhesions develop but that’s not the point of this email

Just focus on the idea that these little guys can effect how well your muscles move within your body

Preventing the muscles from smoothly guiding and sliding in line with each other

Breaking up these guys is possible using a foam roller

And foam rolling the ITB, is a great way to improve the freedom of movement of that crucial band of tissue

The act of foam rolling also has great benefits in improving overall body coordination (as you roll yourself around on the ground) and can have an immensely positive effect on local pain desensitization; thus decreasing pain

So grab your foam roller before or after your next run, and give your muscles some love for about 5 minutes

Happy Runnin