I Have IT Band Syndrome and Running Hills Makes My Knee Hurt

When you have IT band syndrome, running hills can make your knee hurt more because the repeated uphill and downhill effort puts extra stress on the painful area.

When you have IT band syndrome, running on hills may make your usual knee pain much easier to notice. You may feel fine on flatter ground but start feeling aching, burning, or a sharp pain on the outside of your knee when the route begins to climb or descend.

You may also notice that the pain comes on sooner during a hilly run than it does on a flat route. Once your knee starts hurting, continuing through repeated hills can make the familiar pain harder to ignore and leave the area sore afterward.

Hill Climbs Make Your Knee Pain Start Sooner

You may notice your outside knee starts hurting earlier when the route climbs.

Running uphill can make your legs work harder with every step, which may bring on the familiar IT band pain sooner than an easier flat run. You might notice that a hill you could previously run without trouble now causes pain before you reach the top.

Downhill Running Can Make Your Knee Hurt More

You may feel a sharper or more noticeable pain when running downhill.

Descending can make your knee pain stand out because each step repeatedly bends and straightens the knee while you control your speed. If your knee already feels sensitive from IT band syndrome, a long downhill section may make the pain increase and remain noticeable after you finish.

Why Your Knee Pain Keeps Returning On Hills

Your knee has a hard time healing when blood flow and circulation are limited.

Tendons, ligaments, and other soft tissues naturally receive less blood supply than many other parts of the body. Because of this, they often take longer to heal after repeated stress or injury, leaving you more vulnerable to lingering pain and a cycle of reinjury.

When circulation through the area remains limited, injured tissues have a harder time receiving the vital oxygen and nutrients they need to repair and heal. This can leave your knee feeling stiff, tight, weak, or painful during everyday movement and activity.

What Can Help Your Knee Feel Better

Your knee starts feeling better when blood flow and circulation improve.

Chinese herbs have been used for centuries to promote healthy blood flow and circulation. Their medicinal properties help break up stagnant blood and fluids that remain trapped around injured tissues, interfering with circulation. As circulation improves, blood flows more freely through the area, allowing those tissues to receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to heal properly.

Topical herbal remedies made with these Chinese herbs can help relieve pain while improving blood flow and circulation to injured tissues. The right product depends on your symptoms and whether you're in the acute or chronic stage of recovery.

If you have pain, swelling, inflammation, or bruising, Acute Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by increasing circulation and dispersing stagnant blood and fluids around the injured area to speed recovery. During the acute stage of healing, getting circulation moving early allows injured tissues to receive the fresh blood, oxygen, and nutrients they need to repair and heal.

If your injured area is especially swollen, red, or warm to the touch after a recent injury or flare-up, Sinew Herbal Ice is also used to reduce swelling and inflammation while restoring normal circulation so you can quickly regain range of motion. While traditional ice is commonly used to reduce swelling, Sinew Herbal Ice acts as an ice alternative to reduce swelling and inflammation while also dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to speed the healing process.

If you no longer have swelling or inflammation, but still have pain, stiffness, weakness, or sensitivity in cold and damp weather, Chronic Sinew Liniment helps relieve these symptoms by strongly stimulating circulation and increasing blood supply to injured tendons and ligaments to promote their healing. This is especially important because tendons and ligaments naturally receive less blood supply, which is why chronic injuries can take longer to heal.

If you have residual pain and stiffness, or the area becomes more painful in cold weather, Sinew Injury Poultice is also used to significantly stimulate circulation to injured tendons and ligaments to further promote their healing. By strongly increasing circulation, it counteracts the reduced blood flow caused by cold weather that commonly aggravates chronic tendon and ligament injuries.

If you exercise, play sports, or do other strenuous activities, Sinew Sports Massage Oil warms and stimulates muscles for exertion and relieves muscle tightness and soreness after activity. Warming and preparing your muscles before activity can improve flexibility, enhance performance, and reduce the risk of injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

You may also find these commonly asked questions helpful.

Why does running hills make my IT band pain worse?

Hill running makes your legs work harder and can bring on the familiar outside knee pain sooner when you have IT band syndrome.

Why does my knee hurt more when I run downhill?

Downhill running repeatedly bends and straightens your knee while you control your speed, which can make existing IT band pain more noticeable.

Can running uphill cause IT band pain?

Yes. Running uphill can make IT band pain appear sooner because the increased effort may place more stress on the area around your knee.

Should I keep running when my IT band starts hurting on hills?

Continuing through increasing knee pain can make the symptoms harder to settle down, especially when you keep running hills.

Why does my IT band pain return every time I run hills?

Repeated hill running can continue stressing an area that has not fully recovered, allowing the same knee pain to return during activity.

The information provided here is intended to help you better understand your symptoms and recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be evaluated by a qualified healthcare professional.