Resting More for Better Performance

Growing up, I can remember going to the bowling center every single day after school to practice and then bowling Saturday morning league, followed by our Saturday travel league, and then followed by youth tournaments on Sundays. The only time that wasn’t spent in a bowling center was when I was sick or the bowling center was closed. Even on certain holidays, I would often be bowling in adult/youth tournaments.

As I continued through high school, I also picked up running with the track and field team, which meant exercising with the team a few days per week. I loved it. I have always considered myself to be a bit of a workhorse, and much of this work ethic was instilled in me by my father while I was growing up. I knew that to reach my goals, I had to practice, practice, practice!

It wasn’t until college that all the constant practicing and training caught up with me in the form of iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome. I was practicing every day with the team, followed by staying late to work with one of our coaches, followed by heading back to the gym to get some running or weightlifting in.

I vividly remember being home for Christmas break one year and, of course, I was on the lanes practicing. One of my youth coaches came up to watch a few shots. I got set for a shot and felt a sharp shooting pain in my lower back that had me frozen. I had never felt any pain like that, and it was very sudden. I stopped my practice session and ended up going to a physical therapist to get it checked; I was diagnosed with ITB syndrome.

The iliotibial band runs from the side of the hip down to the knee, and mine had gotten inflamed from overuse. This band of connective tissue attaches to the hip flexors in the front of the hip and to the glute muscles on the posterior of the hip. When one of these muscles gets overworked, it can pull on that band and the imbalance can ...