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One of the most common knee problems by athletes is the Iliotibial band syndrome, also known as IT-Band syndrome. This is a well known complication by runners and cyclists. The IT-Band is a thick band of tissues running from the pelvis, along the hip, down the outside of the thigh, around the outside of the knee, and to the tibia. If you have this problem you will feel pain on the outside of the knee. It is common, that you get the problems when you are running and later you might also have the same problems walking.

To prevent this, there are a few IT band Yoga-poses available. If you don’t want to do yoga, you can still use these poses simply for stretching. That’s really what you need to prevent problems with the IT-Band.
If you want an explanation of the poses below, you can find most of them on Youtube. Or you can also find them explained in The Athlete’s Guide to Yoga: An Integrated Approach to Strength, Flexibility, and Focus.

The following poses are known to be good for preventing IT-Band problems:

• Square
• Cow face forward fold
  
• Pigeon
• Outer hamstring twist
• Outer thigh twist
• Half lord of the fishes twist
• Cross-legged reclining twist
• Frog legged pose

For more reading about Yoga and Triathlon please visit The triathletes 9 reasons for doing Yoga or Yoga and Triathlon.

You also might want to take a look at this podcast from Sage Rountree.  She shows you how to do some very efficient exercises to prevent you from getting an IT band problem. Here you can find a review of her Yoga DVD the athlete’s guide to yoga.

Here is an article with more information about ITBS and here is a link to a post showing some products for ITBS.

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