A three-experiment examination of iliotibial band strain characteristics during different conditions using musculoskeletal simulation

Purpose Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is a common chronic pathology mediated via excessive Iliotibial band (ITB) strain. The purpose using a three-experiment approach is to provide insight into the differences in strain between different athletic movements, the incidence of ITBS in females, the efficacy of different prophylactic modalities for ITBS and also the kinematic parameters associated with ITB strain. Methods Experiment 1 examined male and female athletes performing run, 45° cut and one-legged hop movements, experiment 2 observed males and females, whilst running in five different orthotic conditions and experiment 3 examined males and females riding a cycle ergometer at 70, 80 and 90 RPM whilst in prophylactic knee brace and no-brace conditions. In each experiment, kinematics were obtained using a motion capture system and ITB strain was measured using a musculoskeletal simulation approach. Results In experiment 1, ITB strain was greater in the run (male = 3.87% and female = 4.37%; P