Diets in Review Question
Which exercies can I do with an IT band Injury to avoid muscle loss?
Monica asked this question Jun 13th, 2011 10:26 pm
I have an irritated it band. It has been 2 weeks now, I went to see a sports doc. and have been following what he has told me to do. Foam rolling stretching ice, Elevate, advil. He told me I could only work my upper body for the next 2 weeks! That will be a month since the injury, is not really feeling any better yet! getting frustrated! I'm affraid I'm going to loose muscle mass! and start to gain fat in my lower body! that's where I store fat! All my hard work gone to waste! I can't run, bike stair climb, squat, lung, or even eliptical, NOTHING! All hurts! Do you think beginner floor excercises like side raises may help? I was also a personal trainer for sometime, but never had such an injury, I'm being a baby about it! I'm a very active person,and this is just killing my spirit!
Thx,Monica
This question is about Fitness Injury Prevention 101 and the RICE Method
Invite Your Friends to Answer This Question
Answers to this Question
Kelly Turner
Monica-
Injuries are SO frustrating, but the best thing to do is rest them, or else you will end up hurting yourself further, need to take even more time off, and possibly hurt yourself permanently.
If your sports doctor says to rest, then you need to rest.
As far as gaining fat and losing muscle, they are separate issues. You may find some muscle loss after taking quite a few weeks off, but the good news is you lose muscle at twice as long of a rate as you gain it, so it takes a LONG time to actually lose muscle. But, losing muscle doesn't mean you automatically gain fat, so don't worry. If you focus on a really clean diet, avoiding sugars, processed carbs and saturated fat, and stay within your calorie range, you shouldn't gain excess fat just from not being able to workout your lower body.
Ask your doctor if non-impact cardio is ok (primarily swimming, which shouldn't put too much stress on your IT band) but above all else, what your doctor says goes.
User rating
