Blog post produced and written by Clinic Manager and Sports Injury Specialist Jason Dodd.
Foam rolling the ITB has been an ever present in many recreational athletes. But is it actually having an effect and is it worth the pain?
There is some evidence that foam rolling creates some short-term effects on tissue muscle length and flexibility, but it is only short term. And the research for this was applied to specific muscle groups (notably NOT the ITB area – meaning we don't know if the same method would work on this muscle even).
There is also evidence to suggest that foam rolling in general can also affect our pain levels – here's the interesting thing though, in that study they foam rolled the opposite leg to where the pain was, and it resulted in a decrease in pain on the actual affected, painful leg. The suggestion here is that foam rolling doesn't directly influence the tissue biology but instead it influences the central nervous system that controls our pain response output.
But why do we foam roll the ITB? Is it to lengthen it? If that is the case, then we would ask 'why would you want to lengthen it'? The ITB is a long tendon. Tendons are always likened to a spring like mechanism. They absorb force, recoil and then release the energy, resulting in force output. If you were to lengthen a spring, what would you expect from its capabilities? Logically, we would expect to see a weakened spring with less 'spring like ability'. Therefore, if the same thought process is true for the ITB, why would we want to reduce the strength of such an important structure that helps afford us stability when we move?
A recent study by Pepper et al. (2021) showed that foam rolling made no difference in the change of length of the ITB, concluding that there is almost no benefit to foam rolling. It is important here though to appreciate that they sought to find whether the ITB lengthened. It is not to say that foam rolling cannot be used for pain management (as proven in other studies). The key point here is to understand why you are performing the intervention you choose. Whatever you do in your personal and recreational life to help reduce injury, you must ensure you know WHY you are doing it. If you can answer that question, then your choice of intervention not only works but also becomes more motivating and easier to sustain in the long term.
If you are seeking help on trying to understand the minefield of information that is present on the internet and social media, then you are not alone. It may be worth seeking the advice of a qualified healthcare professional though in order to clarify the information you have and to help guide you towards a better pathway of care. Our experts in our clinic can help you to achieve the goals that you seek and are on hand to help you become pain free again.
If you are suffering from ITB injury, or any injury for that matter, please reach out to us and see if we can help change your pathway to success.
