Running overuse injuries

You are trying to get back to running without the same ache turning up at the same mile. The outer leg is a common place to look. Cleveland Clinic says the iliotibial band is a tendon on the outside of your leg that goes from the top of your pelvic bone down to your knee.

Iliotibial band questions

Three questions take the band from the name to the exam room. They ask what the types are, what it feels like and how it is diagnosed, so you can set your own sensation beside the published description.

• What are the types of iliotibial band syndrome?
• What does iliotibial band syndrome feel like?
• How is iliotibial band syndrome diagnosed?

A different kind of running injury

Not every running ache is a band or a tendon. This question looks at the bone.

• What causes stress fractures?

For further reading, the OrthoInfo page on stress fractures and the NHS page on shin splints describe two other problems that runners ask about.

The check before the next step up

Before you add distance, write down where the ache sits and at what point in a run it starts. Bring that note to a clinician who can examine you in Elmwood Park or wherever you are seen.