What is ITB?

The iliotibial band, ITB for short, is a structure that begins at the hips and travels down to the knee attaching into the knee. At the hip, multiple muscles including the tensor fascia latae, the gluteus maximus, the gluteus medius, and more, insert into the ITB. The ITB becomes a thick, fibrous band of fascia that extends to the knee where it attaches into multiple structures providing stability, support, and an energy storage system. The ITB, due to its multiple attachments sites both proximally and distally, may cause pressure in a number of different structures. 

When it comes to shoulders, it is widely acknowledged that the glenohumeral joint (the GHJ, the shoulder joint that occurs due to the upper arm bone “attaching” to the body) has the most range of motion in the body.  This joint can externally and internally rotate (as with reaching behind the head or reaching behind the back), flex and extend (as with reaching in front or behind), and adduct and abduct (as with reaching across the body or reaching out away from the body). In order to achieve such mobility, the shoulder blade must also move to allow the glenohumeral joint to be positioned appropriately.

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Now if you’ve ever heard of injuries to the knee, you have undoubtedly heard a bit about the dreaded “ACL Tear”.  ACL tears (a tear of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament) tend to be a major cause of loss of functionality in people who injure this ligament.  What people typically don’t realize is that the PCL (Posterior Cruciate Ligament) is another ligament of the knee that can be injured, albeit at a much less frequent rate.

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