Avid Runner with IT Band Syndrome

science
(Edith) #1

Hello everyone,

My son has a colleague who is an avid runner. Sounds like she is your stereotypical long distance runner who pounds out a lot of weekly mileage, is quite thin, and follows a vegetarian diet. It’s not necessarily a whole foods diet. He says she does enjoy sweet treats like cake and such.

She has developed IT band syndrome and has supposedly tried everything she can to heal it, but nothing has worked. The next step is surgery. My son mentioned to her how foods we eat can cause inflammation and aggravate injuries and possibly even prevent them from healing. He would like to present her with some information about food causing inflammation. He says she is open to that idea.

I did mention to him that most likely she is overtraining and on top of that, not giving her body enough protein to repair and recover after her runs. I also suggested he tell her about Dr. Gabrielle Lyon’s podcast since she is very pro protein and an MD. I feel like MDs definitely carry more weight when you are trying to convince someone about something they need to change for their health.

Does anyone have suggestions for papers I could refer that discuss diet and inflammation or specific foods and inflammation? I’ve done some looking around myself, but if you know of anything specific, I would greatly appreciate it.

(Joey) #2

Certainly well-established that carbohydrates tend to promote inflammation. I guess I could dredge up a whole slew of studies to that effect, but a search on the forum would be a lot easier to get the full scope of research in hand - along with “google scholar” search, e.g.,

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C45&q=carbohydrate+inflammation&btnG=

As for not getting enough protein to promote joint healing & connective tissue repair, many on this forum have reported meaningful improvements by ingesting collagen peptides. Some research available on this topic, too…

https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C45&q=collagen+peptides&oq=collagen

Hope some of this helps.

(Edith) #3

Thanks. I’ll check those out. I also suggested she look into oxalates. As a vegetarian, she could be ingesting more than her body can handle. According to Sally Norton,

Feeling unstable, weak, easily injured, slow to heal? Oxalates interfere with normal connective tissue maintenance and repair, leading to weak and unstable joints, thin or easily damaged skin or membranes, and prominent and persistent scarring. When oxalates accumulate in vulnerable tissues, they tend to increase scarring and prolong recovery from injury, and may also perpetuate inflammatory conditions. Concern for more complete healing is a good reason to eat a low-oxalate diet.

Joint problems like gout, rheumatoid arthritis-like joint pains, stiffness, soreness, swelling, instability, or tendonitis? Oxalates’ ability to accumulate in joint spaces, to harm connective tissues, and to trigger inflammation has implications for joint tissues. Inflammation due to oxalate accumulation may: 1) induce pain, or 2) tightness that doesn’t respond to stretching exercises, and 3) lead to joint degeneration.

It’s possible this could be a contributing factor.

(Joey) #4

Simply get her to go full carnivore - gobble up collagen, she’ll be fine in no time. :wink:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #5

If the woman in question is vegetarian and not vegan, she might be open to consuming eggs and/or fish, not to mention milk and cheese. She might find this more acceptable than going directly to carnivore.

I wonder if any of Vinnie Tortorich’s books might be of interest to her, since he’s a physical trainer with a strong interest in diet. He also made a suggestion in an interview once: he found the word “keto” produced reactions that were hard to get past, so he switched to describing the diet as “no sugar, no starches, no grains,” which people find easier to get behaind.