Diagnoses

I was given several diagnoses for what was really ITBS. Here are some of the things doctors/physical therapists/health professionals said I had.  Some of these things were actually true, but not cause of my pain nor the reason why I couldn't run without pain. 

Ever been told any of these?  Even if you have, it may not be correct or even the reason you are sidelined:

1. "There is nothing wrong with your knee.  The underside of your patella is a little bit rough and we could shave that off.  Although we don't expect it will relieve your pain since we don't know what is causing it.  We could also scope your new to explore what is wrong, although we aren't sure that will result in any findings."  (And thus began my realization that some doctors are just out there to make money.)
2. "Your patella is being smashed down because your quads are tight." (My patella was a little tight, but not the cause of the lateral pain in my knee.)
3. "Your patella isn't tracking right." (Actually, it was tracking right.)
4. "Your glute muscles are weak and not holding your pelvis stable." (The strengthening routine prescribed only irritated my knee more.  Weak glutes can contribute to many an injury, mine was not due to this.)
5. "I think there is something going on with your right ankle." (I'm still thinking, Huh?, on this one.)
6. "You have leg-length discrepancy.  Wear this lift and you will be okay." (I actually had over 3 doctors try to have me wear a lift.  After seeing recommender #1, I wore a lift for 4 years with no change, meaning I still had extreme knee pain when I tried to run.  I do have a slight leg-length discrepancy, but the lift I was given and wore for 4 years was almost 1 1/2 inches!  Other doctors later told me that it was a "crime" what had been done to me, aka the recommendation to wear such a substantial lift.)   
7. "You have an anteriorly rotated pelvis." (I still have slight rotation, but this was not the cause of my knee pain.  Whether or not my pelvis rotated to compensate or whether I've always been like this, attacking this issue was not what helped me run again, nor do I have any pain.)
8. "You have functional scoliosis."  (I still have slight functional scoliosis, but I have no pain at any time.)
9. "You have a weak core; fix this an then your problem will be fixed."  (This wasn't the cause of my knee pain.)
10. "Sounds like you have a shortened psoas." (Nope, didn't.  Still don't.)
11. "You have leg-length discrepancy that is causing your pelvis to be elevated on the right side, as well as an anteriorly rotated pelvis (forward tilt on the right side), causing functional scoliosis, causing pain in your upper back, causing thoracic outlet syndrome, causing carpel tunnel in your wrist."  (Yes to all of thee above, but none were the cause of my knee pain!  When I did the proper stretches (see Treatment page) and the help of my PT in stretching, the upper back and wrist pain went away.)

This was the only correct diagnosis:

1. "You have Iliotibial Band Syndrome.  Very treatable.  I can have you running in a couple weeks."  (He did!)

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