aase replied: "Hope this is of some help: Treatment As with any injury or ailment, one should see one's physician, physical therapist, chiropractor or athletic trainer for diagnosis and treatment. For a runner with acute ITBS, reduce weekly distance training to 50% for 2 weeks, and only run on flat ground. After, in the absence of ITBS pain, slowly begin to build distance again. If ITBS pain remains or is chronic, one should stop running immediately for two weeks (minimum). If the pain and inflammation are still present, another month of rest may be needed. Once the injury begins to improve, resuming activity can be possible, doing low distance, low speed jogging on flat terrain. Also, changing one's route may help counteract re-injury, as running a common route may put increased stress on the iliotibial band of one leg. To prevent, or cure chronic ITBS there are some essential exercises: Strength building of the hip abductors (especially the gluteus medius), which control ITB tightness Performing specific stretches; Iliotibial band stretch, stretching the gluteal muscles, and other leg based static stretching To create a good treatment program, proper assessment of injury severity is critical. Once the injury has been properly assessed, a treatment program (usually consisting of three steps) can be planned. The length of time spent on each phase varies depending on the athlete, the reasons for the initial injury, and the severity of the injury. Immediate Treatment After noticing symptoms, the important task is controlling pain and inflammation. For these symptoms, RICE works well. Stretching is second in importance, to make sure that the iliotibial band does not become taut. Next, examining what may have caused ITBS is important. Issues range from poor training habits to structural abnormalities, but the shoes a runner uses are another consideration. For example, after 500 miles most shoes retain less than 60% of their initial shock absorption capacity, increasing the chance of ITBS injury. Lastly, anti-inflammatories or ultrasound may be helpful to relieve symptoms. Short Term Treatment If the pain and inflammation do not subside, all painful activity should stop while continuing immediate treatment. A regular stretching regimen is important. A video analysis of running movements may provide insight into problematic running mechanics. To retain fitness, a number of options will work at this stage, as long as they do not promote pain. Altering these exercises will minimize overtraining: Swimming, though abstain from the breaststroke as it may aggravate symptoms Optionally, wearing a life jacket, one may run in the pool (depth allowing) Cycling, though with care, as it may aggravate symptoms Speed walking, especially straight-legged to discourage pain Cross-country skiing Yoga, or similar low-impact aerobics At this stage, steroid injections may be helpful, though some risks are involved. Long Term Treatment The last phase is only started once pain and inflammation are gone. Often, this phase involves returning to a normal state, even competitive sports. Though, at least these criteria must be satisfied: The injured knee has regained full range of motion without pain The injured knee has regained normal strength compared to the uninjured knee Cardiovascular endurance has normalized Most importantly, one must ensure that old symptoms do not recur. Thus, any pain or inflammation must be treated cautiously, especially if the ITBS was serious and involved a lengthy downtime. The return process must be gradual and treated with extreme care, structurally specific stretching during this time is essential and must be done extensively, before and after activity. Returning to activity should be done while correcting, or significantly reducing, any factors that were thought to have caused ITBS. If no factors are identified and corrected, the chance of the re-injury is much higher. Rarely, and only in extreme cases, surgery is used to correct the injury. Typically, unless one is still suffering from symptoms in 6-12 months, surgery is not performed. It involves the release-excision of the iliotibial band, performed after an arthroscopic evaluation of the knee, which rules out other causes for the symptoms. Only patients unwilling to adapt their exercise because of this injury undergo surgery; it should only be performed after all other treatments have failed. Rehabilitation After the Pain is Gone Continue stretching, as well as strengthening of the leg muscles. The patient should start running only after treatment. Restart running with small distances, building slowly. If the patient feels pain, he or she should stop. ["

Maria R replied: "First of all don't blame yourself. Just because your the mom doesn't mean you have power over EVERYTHING. Babies are very adaptable and will learn to do most everything no matter how disfigured their limbs are. There is no reason to hide it from your friends and family since this is nothing to be ashamed of. If your baby is going to need a lot of rehabilitation you'll need to enlist them to help. Always remember; whatever attitude you have about the ABS is the same one you're child will have."

ltrunner replied: "1 week"

ruggertx replied: "Definitely, I'm a phsyical therapist and I start all my patients with IT band problems on the bike as a warm-up. Just make sure you do your stretches, particularly the IT band stretch when you are finished riding. Also, be sure to listen to your body. If you start riding the bike and your pain level subtanial increases on you, then you need to stop. Good luck!"