3 Best IT Band Stretches to Help Relieve Tightness in Your Leg and Knee Laura Williams Bustos, MS, ACSM EP-C
The Most Common Types of Back Pain
Replay Video
Understanding IT band and knee pain
There s a lot of misinformation out there about how to stretch the iliotibial (IT) band, a thick band of connective tissue that runs along the outside of your thigh from your hip, past your knee, and to the top of your shinbone, or tibia.
The first thing to know about the IT band is that it s not a muscle; it s a layered band of fascia, which is a type of connective tissue that surrounds and supports a variety of tissues, including organs and muscles. Its properties are different from those of muscles: stronger, less pliable, and less responsive to the act of stretching.