There are two muscle groups which are not very well known or understood by most doctors and physical therapists. These muscles can have a huge impact on lower back pain, but also for military personnel can have an enormous impact on your stride and your ability to tolerate long distance tabbing.
These muscles groups are called;
The Ilio-Tibial Band [ IT Band ]
The Tensor Fascia Lata [ Latae for both sides of the body. ] [ TFL ]
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20050415/1545_f1.jpg
http://www.simnet.is/has/text/Eyjolfur/ ... age004.jpg
Both run down the sides of your legs. The TFL is at the top and the IT band is below it. Both join together.
When you got to the supermarket and buy chicken breast, you may have noticed a thin white sheet over the meat. This is called fascia, and is elastic in nature. It both covers our muscles, and is inter-twined in our muscles. It is supposed to very stretchable, but can become very hard if it is not stretched. The TFL and IT band are a mixture of both muscle and fascia. When we walk, an incredibly complex series of events takes place. In order to walk properly, one muscle must activate before another, and there is a sequence in which they should operate. If this sequence does not occur [ due to one muscle or muscles not “firing” properly, or being unable to move due to being tight], other muscles will have to “pick up the slack”. These muscles are not meant to be doing the bulk of the work, and can cause big problems with hip pain [ to be covered in a future posting ] and back pain.
When the TFL and IT band get tight, they force what are called the hip flexor muscles [ to be discussed in the next posting ] to get tight. These then cause the pelvis to tilt forward, which makes your body try to tilt forward. The brain detects this and causes the lower back muscles to tighten up, trying to prevent you from toppling over.
As far as tabbing is concerned, if your IT band and TFL are too tight, your legs will not be doing most of the work, but rather your hip flexors. If you get the IT band and TFL loosened up properly, you can expect at least a 15 -20% improvement in endurance. Typical stride length increases are from 2 – 6 inches. I have seen several world champion triathletes and American football players stay at the top of their professions by working on the IT band/ TFL and keeping their diaphragms loose. This is one of the main reasons why apparently similar people [ with the same determination and same physical strength ] can do so differently in things like P-company, CTCRM, selection etc.
So, how do we loosen these groups ? First of all, try this; Stand straight up, and have someone identify the middle of the side of your leg. Have them go just above the knee [ on the outside of the leg only ] and dig in with the non-sharp end of a fork. If you wince, your IT band is too tight. If you cannot even cause a depression in the muscle, it means that it has started to calcify [ calcium gets laid down in the fibers ]. Have the person try it again using their thumb. Mine was so tight, I thought it was my “leg bone” that was being pressed against when my therapist first worked on it. It wasn’t, it was just a very tight and solid muscle. Not good.
There are two good methods of working on the IT band [ please no comments about the birds ]
1. Foam rollers. The idea is that you lay on your side and roll your leg across the roller up and down. Be aware that along with the hamstrings, the IT band is one of the most sensitive areas of the body. Don’t overdo it.
http://epicself.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/me.jpg
2. Mechanical rollers [ looks like two wheels with an axle ].
http://store.tptherapy.com/Trigger_Poin ... pt-str.htm
The TP kit is the best on the market. You use the roller up and down the IT band. It can also be used to help foot pain and plantar fasciitis, which I’ll cover later. The ball can be used to help back pain, which I’ll discuss later.
TFL
Here’s a good stretch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjkvlGz9 ... re=related
You may need to get some deep tissue massage done on your TFL if it is too tight.
To check your TFL tightness;
Stand sideways to a wall. Put one arm out at 90 degrees and “grab” the wall. Keeping the leg beside the wall perfectly straight and your body perfectly straight, slowly “kick” out your other leg until it is as high as it can go. Make a note. Repeat the process with the other leg. I can almost guarantee you they will not be the same. Have a mate check it if you cannot see the difference. That imbalance can twist your pelvis and spine.
I’ll cover WHY muscles can hurt when we press against them or overuse them later on.
Dave
