IT Band Self-Massage

Massaging your iliotibial bands can be a big help if you run, cycle, or are experiencing pain in your knees.
The IT band lives on the lateral portion of your thigh and runs from just below your knee to your pelvis. It’s made of tough connective tissue and muscle. The muscle is in the middle.
When it’s working right your IT band stabilizes your hip and knee. When it’s not working right you might experience pain along the outer portion of your knee. IT band syndrome is the overuse injury often suffered by runners and sometimes cyclists.
Massage can help. To help you give it a try I've posted a youtube video: IT Band Massage Quickie: Do It while You View It. I'm planning to post a couple more, a longer version with massage tools and another with the IT band stretched a little.
Another IT band massage video I like is this one by Art Riggs. If you're experiencing problems in your legs and you think it might be related to your IT bands this video is worth watching. And finally this one by Massagenerd is also worth checking out.

Upper Leg Massage

If you want all the benefits of massage applied to your quads, hamstrings, IT bands, and adductors watch this video and have at it. The massage should do wonders for your upper legs. Have fun with it. Perform it regularly and you'll notice a big improvement in how you feel and your athletic performance.

To see it in writing, take a look at my last post.

Massage Your Upper Legs

Photo by orionoir

Every active person needs the benefits that massage can give their quads, hamstrings and IT bands. Here’s how to get those benefits whenever you need them.

Eight Steps to Upper Leg Bliss
Step 1
Choose the leg that most needs a massage. (for purposes of this example massage your right leg). Seated in a chair, keep your left foot on the floor and rest your right ankle on your left knee.

Step 2
Glide your hands over your upper leg to warm it up, from your knee to your glutes.

Step 3
Quadriceps:
Stroke #1: Place both feet on the floor, press your right elbow into your interior quads, relax your leg while moving your elbow in a straight line towards your hips. Don’t be afraid to lean into it. When you get to your hip bone go back down to your knee and choose a new line to go up. Repeat this process until you’ve covered your entire quadriceps. This should feel pretty good.
Stroke #2: Press your elbow into your quads and roll your elbow in small circles to get a deeper massage. Keep your leg relaxed. Look for tender spots and work them. Be gentle but firm. If you’re like me you’ll find tender spots the closer you get to your hips bones.

Step 4
IT Bands: Rest your right ankle on your knee. While pressing into your inner thigh with your left palm, use the fist of your other hand to press and press & roll into your IT bands. The trick here is to keep your IT band and upper leg muscles relaxed. To go deeper, press your palm into your inner thigh while pressing & rolling your fist into your IT band. To go even deeper, use a massage tool like the Knobble II to massage your IT bands. To relax your upper leg, try placing your right foot on the floor and massage your IT band.


Knobble II

Step 5
Inner Thigh: Rest your right ankle on your knee. Grip the outside of your knee with your left hand and press or press & roll your left elbow into your adductor (inner thigh) muscles.

Step 6
Hamstrings: Slide forward so you’re sitting towards the front of the chair and can access your hamstrings from underneath. Press & roll four fingers from each hand into your hamstrings while placing your thumbs on the sides of your leg. Keep your muscles loose and relaxed.
If you need more intensity than your fingers alone can deliver try using a massage tool. The Knobble II works great for this. Move back in your chair. Place the tool between the chair and your hamstrings and rotate your right foot in small circles an inch or so off the ground. This is a surprisingly effective way to get a hamstring massage while sitting at your desk and maybe even get some work done.

Step 7
Gliding: Repeat Step 2 by gliding your hands over your upper leg muscles, moving from your knee towards your glutes.

Step 8
Drumming: With your ankle resting on your knee drum, slap, or tap your upper leg with your fists.

Watch the YouTube video Upper Leg Massage to see what this massage looks like.

Test: OK, get up, walk around, and feel the difference between your legs. Then sit back down and massage your other leg.

Suggested Time: 3 minutes per leg (but take as long as you need)

Conclusion: Try variations on this routine every time your upper legs need it.

For more information on thigh muscles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Thigh_muscles