Quantitative analysis of the relative effectiveness of 3 iliotibial band stretches
Three articles on PainSci cite Fredericson 2002: 1. The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome 2. The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome 3. IT Band Stretching Does Not Work
PainSci notes on Fredericson 2002:
From the abstract: “Adding an overhead arm extension to the most common standing ITB stretch may increase average ITB length change and average external adduction moments in elite-level distance runners.” Khaund notes that “Although this study, demonstrates the effectiveness of stretching the iliotibial band, participants in the study did not have iliotibial band syndrome and studies have not demonstrated that stretching hastens recovery from the syndrome.”
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the relative effectiveness of 3 common standing stretches for the iliotibial band (ITB): arms at side (stretch A), arms extending overhead (stretch B), and arms reaching diagonally downward (stretch C).
DESIGN: Each subject's biomechanics was captured as a 3-dimensional image by using a 4-camera gait acquisition system with a forceplate.
SETTING: University biomotion laboratory.
PARTICIPANTS: Five male elite-level distance runners.
INTERVENTIONS: All participants performed each of the 3 standing stretches for the ITB.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: For each stretch, change in ITB tissue length and the force generated within the stretched complex was measured. Data were then combined and analyzed by using kinetic values assessment.
RESULTS: All 3 stretches created statistically significant changes in ITB length (P<.05), but stretch B, incorporating overhead arm extension, was consistently most effective both for average ITB length change and average adduction moments at the hip and knee.
CONCLUSIONS: Adding an overhead arm extension to the most common standing ITB stretch may increase average ITB length change and average external adduction moments in elite-level distance runners.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Photobiomodulation therapy is not better than placebo in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Guimarães 2021 Pain.
- No effect of creatine monohydrate supplementation on inflammatory and cartilage degradation biomarkers in individuals with knee osteoarthritis. Cornish 2018 Nutr Res.
- The CANBACK trial: a randomised, controlled clinical trial of oral cannabidiol for people presenting to the emergency department with acute low back pain. Bebee 2021 Med J Aust.
- Relationships Between Sleep Quality and Pain-Related Factors for People with Chronic Low Back Pain: Tests of Reciprocal and Time of Day Effects. Gerhart 2017 Ann Behav Med.
- Modulation in the elastic properties of gastrocnemius muscle heads in individuals with plantar fasciitis and its relationship with pain. Zhou 2020 Sci Rep.