Hello Kristen!

You’ll first want to address any mobility or soft tissue restrictions. Check out the Getting Started Tab (https://thereadystate.com/getting-started/) and check out the lunge and pistol archetype to see if he is missing any hip extension or dorsiflexion in the ankle as these could be player. If so, there are lots of great mobilizations on the site to check out for improving these positions. Here are some examples below.

Hip Extension:
https://thereadystate.com/2011/07/episode-281-runners-legs-and-hip-extension/

Ankle Dorsiflexion:

Thursday, March 30th, 2017 – Dorsiflexion

Also incorporate some soft tissue mobilization hitting and tight spots above and below the painful area with the lacrosse ball or roller. Roll out upstream hitting the glutes and TFL and downstream to the peroneals (outside of lower leg). Rolling out any trigger points in the quad as well. I wouldn’t roll directly on the painful spot in the knee as IT band syndrome is a compression issue and that can further irritate the area.

Next, he will want to add in some strengthening/coordination exercises. Loading improves tissue qualities and we want to keep activity levels as high as possible without further exacerbating the IT band pain. However, this may mean he will need to dial down the running for a bit and replace it with some challenging exercises that don’t irritate the area. The goal is to keep the exercises tolerable to the point that pain in the knee does not exceed a 2/10. He can start incorporating some hip and lower body strengthening exercises like side lying leg lifts, side planks, single leg glute bridges, and split squats. As symptoms improve and the area has calmed down, definitely reintroduce and ramp up running as a way to further load the tissues.

Check out the videos below as well for some guidance:
https://thereadystate.com/2013/08/pro-episode-35-mwod-pro-user-request-friday-the-it-band-primer/
https://thereadystate.com/2011/01/episode-142-tight-it-band-and-hip-flexor-fix-runners/

Cheers,
Mike