8 IT Band Stretches and Exercises to Help Relieve Outer Knee Pain

By Jenny McCoy

There's nothing fun about that stabbing pain outside your knee caused by iliotibial band syndrome. The good news though? Doing IT band stretches and strengthening exercises can provide much-needed relief.

Iliotibial band syndrome (or IT band syndrome for short) is a painful condition commonly caused by running, physical therapist Brando Lakes, DPT, cofounder of Kinesadelic in NYC, tells SELF. It can also result from cycling, walking, or sitting too much, he adds.

Anyone who's experienced IT band pain will likely tell you it's uncomfortable at the least, and flat-out painful at its worst. Lakes, for instance, once had IT band syndrome in both legs and recalls the sensation as "very sharp" and "super debilitating."

Ahead, everything you need to know about IT band syndrome, plus eight awesome stretching exercises and knee pain relief exercises you can do at home to help remedy your discomfort.

The iliotibial (IT) band (also called the iliotibial tract) is a tendon that extends along the outside of your leg from the top of your pelvic bone to just beneath the knee, according to the National Library of Medicine. The IT band helps with knee flexion—basically, bending the knee—especially when you’re running, says Lakes.

The IT band is connected to the tensor fasciae latae (TFL), a muscle located at the hip that helps you abduct your hip muscles and swing your legs out wide, says Lakes. The TFL also helps you stand in place without your hips dropping or putting too much pressure on the low back, he adds.

You can think of the IT band and the TFL as components of a guitar, says Lakes: The IT band is a string, and the TFL is the tuner, or the little knob at the top of the guitar that places tension on the string. That just basically means that the TFL can affect the tightness of the IT band.

Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome is often caused by overuse of the TFL, says Lakes. When the TFL is overstressed, it tightens up and pulls on the IT band, causing the IT band to pluck and rub across the thigh bone any time you bend and straighten your knee. Lakes gives the analogy of a string (the IT band) being rubbed back and forth over a rock (the thigh bone). Over time, this rubbing causes friction and ultimately, pain.

In terms of what causes the overuse injury to the TFL in the first place, well, there are a few culprits. One is weakness in your glutes—particularly the glute medius and glute minimus, two smaller butt muscles that help stabilize the hips as you move. When these muscles aren't as strong as they should be, especially when you’re performing an activity like running that involves the hips, the TFL often steps in to help. This muscle then "ends up working overtime," says Lakes.

Your TFL band can also become overused if you spend a lot of time sitting, especially in positions that involve good amounts of both hip flexion and hip abduction—say, sitting on the couch with your knee pulled up toward your chest on the outside of your shoulder, says Lakes.

Most often, people with ITB syndrome feel a sharp pain on the outside of the knee just above the kneecap when they bend or straighten the knee, says Lakes. Sometimes, IT band knee pain can travel up the thigh to the hip, according to Cedars-Sinai, a nonprofit academic health care organization. So yes, considering your IT band for hip pain is a thing.

Some people only have this pain when they work out, especially when they run. (That's why IT band stretches for runners are super important!) But others may have pain outside of exercise, per Cedars-Sinai.

To treat IT band pain, you want to loosen up the front of the hip as well as strengthen both the glute medius and glute minimus muscles, says Lakes. For some people, stretching alone can resolve the IT band pain, says Lakes, but since that's not the case for everyone, it's important to consider both approaches.

You can loosen up the front hip, and thus achieve better flexibility, by foam rolling, applying heat, and/or stretching. And you can strengthen the glute medius and minimus by consistently doing exercises that target these muscles. (You may also consider a mini-band workout that targets your smaller butt muscles).

If you have IT band pain, it's also important to scale back the activities that are causing the pain. Try running or cycling shorter distances, and if you still have pain, stop these activities completely, suggests the National Library of Medicine. At that point, you may want to check in with a doctor or physical therapist to get evaluated and prescribed a personalized treatment plan.

You can do IT band stretches as often as every day, says Lakes. Strength exercises should be done a little less often–say, three times a week—since you’ll need time for your muscles to recover and build back stronger. If you’re a runner, Lakes recommends doing strength exercises before you run since they can help properly prime your muscles for the activity.

To keep things even, try to do IT band stretches and exercises on both sides of your body, even if your IT band pain is only on one side, says Lakes. That said, if you’re really limited on time, you can just focus on working the side that's in pain, he adds.

Quick caveat: Depending on the severity of your IT band pain, the below iliotibial band stretches and moves may not be enough to alleviate your symptoms. Seek help from a doctor or from physical therapy if you have any of these symptoms for a month: feelings of tightness, pulling, clicking, or snapping on the outside of the knee when you walk, climb stairs, or transition from sitting to standing (and vice-versa), says Lakes.

Directions: Do the stretches (first three moves) as often as you’d like, holding each stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds. Do the strength exercises (last five moves) several times a week, aiming for four sets of 15 repetitions each.

This stretch can help loosen up your hips, as well as your glutes and quads.

This stretch targets the front of your leg, including your TFL muscle. For a deeper stretch of the TFL, try bringing your bent knee directly behind your standing leg while maintaining a neutral spine.

By Amy Marturana Winderl, C.P.T.

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This stretch is great for lengthening the TFL, says Lakes. Make sure you pull your bottom leg behind your torso to really stretch the TFL, he says.

This unilateral move can help strengthen your glute muscles, including your glute medius and glute minimus.

The Bulgarian split squat is a squat variation that targets your glutes, as well as your quads, hamstrings, inner thighs, and calves.

By Amy Marturana Winderl, C.P.T.

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This classic lower-body move can help strengthen your glutes while also working quads, hamstrings, and calves. As you perform reps, lean forward to further activate your glutes.

This move works your glutes, and the lateral walk hits your hip abductors—the gluteus medius and minimus.

This exercise really targets your glutes. As SELF previously reported, the all-fours bent-knee position engages the glutes while keeping the hamstrings disengaged, which means the glutes are the primary drivers of the movement.

Demoing the moves above are Nicole Figueroa (GIF 1), a NASM-certified personal trainer and online fitness coach; Charlee Atkins (GIFs 2-3), CSCS, creator of Le Sweat class; Grace Pulliam (GIF 4), an aerial yoga and Vinyasa yoga teacher in New York City; Cookie Janee (GIF 5), a background investigator and security forces specialist in the Air Force Reserve; Amanda Wheeler (GIF 6), host of the Covering Ground podcast; Gail Barranda Rivas (GIF 7), a certified group fitness instructor, functional strength coach, Pilates and yoga instructor; and Heather Boddy (GIF 8), a group fitness instructor and creator of the Geeknasium workout program.

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SELF does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.