Iliotibial band friction syndrome

Not the greatest selfie, but taken just after the
hopping exercise. No wonder I'm not smiling.

Forget simple headaches and runny noses; it's high time I had a really impressive ailment... and now I have one.

I first noticed a pain the my right knee several weeks ago when going down the stairs in my home.  I thought nothing of it, passing it off as one of those aches and pains that are apt to plague beings of advancing years. It would, I reasoned, disappear as quickly as it arrived. But it didn't.

Things rather came to a head (should that be 'to a right leg'?) last Thursday, on my regular 7½ mile walk through the forest. I was making my way along an ill-defined track near Pillowell when, descending on a steepish bit of path, I felt a stabbing pain in my knee and ended up hopping the rest of the way down to level ground, whereupon the pain disappeared and I carried on my homeward way.

Back home, I entered Pain in knee when going downhill into Google and quickly found the answer — iliotibial band friction syndrome, or IBFS for short. The website advises rest, ice, ibuprofen and an appointment with the GP. I'm certainly not doing any of those... well not unless it gets a lot worse.

My knowledge of anatomy is pretty basic – your leg bone's connected to your knee bone is about my limit – so I found the next bit quite interesting:

The iliotibial band is a band of tissue that stretches from your pelvis, down your thigh and over your knee, and attaches to your lower leg. It aids flexion and stabilises your knee. Every time you bend your knee, this band moves across the side of your knee. Do this repeatedly and the friction against the bone can result in inflammation and pain. Covering a lot of miles can actually shorten the iliotibial band, increasing the friction, and increasing the likelihood of IBFS

Is 7 to 14 miles a week 'a lot of miles'? Perhaps not, though I can quite believe that Tempus Fugit is taking its toll. The same website went on to suggest three floor exercises that will hopefully stretch my iliotibial band, and these I have started to do. S- thought I'd resorted to Pelvic Floor Exercises and I felt as if I was playing solo Twister, but I'm up for it anyway and I can definitely feel that band gently stretching.  Wish me luck.