ITBS is a repetitive strain injury that causes swelling and pain along the outside of your knee.

The ITB is a thick band of 'non-contractile' tissue that extends down the outside of your leg from your upper thigh to your shin bone. It is primarily a stabilizer, and slides over the knee joint, when you flex and extend.

If this band is overworked, it can begin to cause swelling and pain in the knee, known as ITB Syndrome.

Often tendon strain occurs because you are doing too much, too soon. Lack of conditioning to specific training regimes, equipment and surfaces, such as hill running, new shoes or changing from track to grass, can place strain on the tendon as it tries to adapt. Over pronation (flat feet) , decreased foot/ankle/hip/knee mobility and balance as well as leg muscle weakness can predispose tendons to compensatory strain.

Initially, the repetitive microtrauma may not be felt as pain but if one does not rest, heal and adapt, degeneration occurs and the tissue can become 'sick'.

Over-time, a chronic syndrome develops that affects the entire lower kinematic chain from your low back to your foot and ankle. This becomes very challenging to treat.

The common anecdote of a car's wheel alignment applies well in this case. The 'imbalanced' wheel takes extra strain with use and eventually will wear out faster than the others. You can replace the wheel, but unless you fix the cause of the problem, the new wheel is still going to wear out. Over time, other parts of the car begin to compensate and take strain and eventually you are left with a complicated syndrome that requires a holistic recovery approach, focusing on the full lower kinematic chain as a biomechanical unit.

ITBS is a repetitive strain injury that causes swelling and pain along the outside of your knee.

The ITB is a thick band of 'non-contractile' tissue that extends down the outside of your leg from your upper thigh to your shin bone. It is primarily a stabilizer, and slides over the knee joint, when you flex and extend.

If this band is overworked, it can begin to cause swelling and pain in the knee, known as ITB Syndrome.

Often tendon strain occurs because you are doing too much, too soon. Lack of conditioning to specific training regimes, equipment and surfaces, such as hill running, new shoes or changing from track to grass, can place strain on the tendon as it tries to adapt. Over pronation (flat feet) , decreased foot/ankle/hip/knee mobility and balance as well as leg muscle weakness can predispose tendons to compensatory strain.

Initially, the repetitive microtrauma may not be felt as pain but if one does not rest, heal and adapt, degeneration occurs and the tissue can become 'sick'.

Over-time, a chronic syndrome develops that affects the entire lower kinematic chain from your low back to your foot and ankle. This becomes very challenging to treat.

The common anecdote of a car's wheel alignment applies well in this case. The 'imbalanced' wheel takes extra strain with use and eventually will wear out faster than the others. You can replace the wheel, but unless you fix the cause of the problem, the new wheel is still going to wear out. Over time, other parts of the car begin to compensate and take strain and eventually you are left with a complicated syndrome that requires a holistic recovery approach, focusing on the full lower kinematic chain as a biomechanical unit.