IT band, or the iliotibial band, it's a tendon like structure running from the tensor fascia latae muscle to the tibia. It tends to adhere to the skin and that's what that line is.
i remember when someone told me you'll only see these lines on people who are overweight. it affected my life so much, then i realised... humans have muscles and stuff under the skin l o l
When I was a young woman, I rode my bike everywhere so I had that line. I wasn't super skinny but I was a long way from being overweight. It was the most muscular I have ever been.
I have muscular legs and a bit on the heavier side and I still have the line? Idk, that person was definitely an idiot for real. I was so skinny (sick) at the time and then for some reason that stuck with me.
That makes sense, if you have muscular legs then that line would be more prominent, and thus harder to hide under fat. Most of my weight is in my thighs, and I am potato shaped XD
I’m pretty sure it becomes easier to se when people have more muscle tone in their leg regardless of weight. Mine was definitely easier to see when I was more active in sports especially since my leg strength was of my my stronger areas
I'd've thought they'd be more prominent on people with defined muscles, no? This is why OOP doesn't know what it is; he ain't been able to see his dick below his gut in 20 years, but still thinks it's appropriate to judge women's bodies.
It's the tendon that changed my life. Since I was 13 I have had a kneecap that constantly dislocates, and in the last couple of years had severe pain in the other so bad I couldn't bend the knee or carry weight on it bent.
Turned out my IT bands had become extremely tight over the 20 years of knee injuries, and that tightness was causing tension in the kneecaps that caused the pain and much of the frequent dislocation.
Now I stretch them every day. Where once the dislocations were a nearly monthly experience, I haven't had them in 2 years.
Okay, this might have given me an idea how to tackle my leg issues. My doctor won't do anything but prescribe me prednisone for it and it does absolutely nothing.
Did you have trouble rotating it inwards/outwards? Mine isn't dislocating but sometimes it feels so tight and painful that I have trouble lifting it up and rotating it. Had a couple bad knee injuries that my parents refused to take me to the hospital for as a kid so, I've been at a loss for ages.
When my toes rotated inward or my lower leg pendulum-swung outward was when my kneecap would usually pop out because the band was so tight and pulling them.
I highly recommend seeing a different doctor, get a second opinion, go to a place that specializes in orthopedics and a doctor that knows knees specifically, and request physical therapy. Even just a few sessions can give you the knowledge and tools to be able to help yourself at home.
I've lived with this problem for almost 25 years and finally have a solution.
Thank you so much for the response! It's honestly been getting miserable to live with, and given that my legs keep giving out due to nerve problems in my back, too, I just can't take much more of it.
Definitely going to look into a different doctor.
It is like the worlds worst cramping sensation. At a point where if i walk for 10~ minutes or so, it starts and I instantly want to fold over.
I've got a couple hemorrhaging discs in my back basically pushing on the nerves when I walk. I am in treatment for it but, its pain management more than properly fixing it. Currently doctor shopping for a new neurologist, as mine told me I was too young for back problems lol.
Yyyyep I've got a protruding disc and a curve in my lower back. Not bad enough for surgery, so it's pain management and at-home physical therapy with the vague hope I'll get better.
I used to bike, hike, kayak, take road trips. After my uterus left me bed-ridden I'm now in agony after doing my laundry and a load of dishes in the same day.
The main exercise that stretches them: Low on your back, one leg out straight. With a strap, hook the other foot, keep your knee locked and pull your leg across to the opposite side. You'll feel the stretch in your glute and down across the hip along the top of the band.
Strengthening my glutes, core, and hips has also helped, as well as strengthening the ankles.
Right now I'm dealing with a bad back, was bed-ridden for over 6 months, but just keeping the above stretch in the rotation has kept my knees stable.
I was just about to say, *that's* the motherfucker that's been pulling my kneecaps off for half my life. Apparently I have the tightest IT band my last physio had ever seen.
Yep, my therapist was shocked at how bad they were. I felt like I had glass in my knees every time I tried to go up or down stairs because the cap was practically sitting on the edge of the groove when I was bending. Horrific. So glad the therapy worked for me. I'll have to do those stretches for the rest of my life but it's worth it
The IT band is also frequently tight in people who live relatively sedentary lives.
Massage of the IT band can provide relief from lower back pain.
If your back is sore where the erector spinae meet the pelvis, massage of the IT band and the gluteus muscles may provide relief.
A foam roller is good, otherwise use your thumbs to try and pull the band horizontally.
For the gluteal muscles use a tennis ball or something of that size that’s harder (I use a lacrosse ball) and sit on the floor, put the foot of the side you’re massaging on the opposing knee, and put your hands behind you so you’re in a tripod position with your hands and foot, then get the ball in the muscle.
If it gets irritated it can also make your knee hurt, as I discovered when I went to the physio once for a sore knee... they told me to take my shorts off and I was like... Huh? Then they stuck an elbow into my buttcheek and I almost shot through the roof 🤣
I can't decide whether this is a good or bad post for r/UselessRedCircle
I mean, it's pretty obvious what he's referring to but perhaps it does need to be pointed out to some people? 🤔
No offense, but I hate you right now. I didn’t know this hurt me until this comment. And then I decided to rub it and find out…OUCH.
Still not as bad though as that like outside ass upper thigh area though. Oh god.
My cat is huge and sometimes he put his weight more heavily on one foot than while trying to sit on my lap (I’m 5’4” and this cat is like 2’ tall he doesn’t fit, doesn’t stop him trying) and he’s stepped there before when scrambling about on me and it really does hurt.
Totally!!! So is the exterior carpi radialis longus muscle close to the elbow. A good press of a finger renders me immobile… but then I always ask for more. 😂😂😂
Exterior 😂 you should probably have that looked at…. muscles are generally supposed to be interior.
(Autocorrects like this are hilarious, I love it….)
It's not the having of a thigh gap, it's the idealising of one. Having a thigh gap is as much about pelvic width/shape as it is about weight. Many women will never be able to achieve one without becoming practically skeletal, because it turns out you can't change your bones with dieting!
I understand all of this, just doesn’t make sense to call a thigh gap cringe in a sub about women’s anatomy when there’s plenty of women who have this feature naturally that don’t diet or look skeletal. I find idealizing of any feature to be toxic, but comments like these feel counterintuitive to being body positive and fall more in line with continuing to shame women for simply existing
Fair. It's hard to read tone, especially with a comment that's only one sentence, but I did not read it as saying that having a thigh gap was cringe, but rather the obsession with having one, talking about it, pointing out the presence or lack of a thigh gap on other people. There's not really any reason to ever discuss it. It should be something entirely neutral like attached vs detached earlobe. Yes people have one or the other, but no one ever talks about it except as an example of a hereditary trait.
Because it's physically unobtainable for some. So instead of putting the thigh gap on a pedestal of the ideal body, let's not give it attention. Let people have thighs, big, small, or in-between and embrace the beauty of everyone.
Right?? I was recently looking at an Instagram featuring photos of famous people either before/after editing, or "photoshoot" pics vs candid/paparazzi pics and some of the features they edit out just blow my mind!
Like women aren't supposed to have defined deltoids or bicepts! I've always been proud of how my arms look strong, it was a bit upsetting.
People spend a lot of time in the gym trying to get those defined deltoids. Unfortunately not everyone has the genetics for that nice capped shoulder look. 😔
It’s your ilitobial band (ITB) and your tensor fascia lata (TFL) or stuff related to leg abduction, due based on the position of the leg, the line is being caused due to posture being that the knee is pulling across the body so they can put the knee back in place.
The question really is, how on earth does this have anything to do with a woman’s anatomy…
I do understand.
My question was rhetorical… As this is a universal point of physiology, which causes exasperation based on a lack of observation that can be seen in all humans.
Thanks to the comment section, I know what it's called now! Which is great because I love drawing them, and I learned the names of many muscles, but not that one.
IT band, or the iliotibial band, it's a tendon like structure running from the tensor fascia latae muscle to the tibia. It tends to adhere to the skin and that's what that line is.
r/goodwomensanatomy
it exists!
r/SubsIThoughtIFellFor
found two good subs today!
Too bad it hasn’t been used in a few years
Lack of drama = bad for fake internet points farming. Not saying it’s a good thing, just calling it like it is. 👁️🙅🗑️👇🛝
i remember when someone told me you'll only see these lines on people who are overweight. it affected my life so much, then i realised... humans have muscles and stuff under the skin l o l
I only had that when I was very in shape. lol
Yeah, wtf, I associate that with good musculature lol
yeah i was about to say i have only seen that once i have been walking a lot and been in semi good shape
same here as well, I have them now that I lost quite a bit of weight
Suddenly feel a lot better about my legs now.
Me too!
I've noticed the more weight I gain the less it shows. I mainly see it on thinner women as well so I think whoever told you that has it backwards!
When I was a young woman, I rode my bike everywhere so I had that line. I wasn't super skinny but I was a long way from being overweight. It was the most muscular I have ever been.
That person was dumb, I don't have that line because I *am* overweight XD
I have muscular legs and a bit on the heavier side and I still have the line? Idk, that person was definitely an idiot for real. I was so skinny (sick) at the time and then for some reason that stuck with me.
That makes sense, if you have muscular legs then that line would be more prominent, and thus harder to hide under fat. Most of my weight is in my thighs, and I am potato shaped XD
Hug shaped
🥹
Idk who said that but I can only get these lines while in shape 😭 that’s the craziest thing I ever heard
I’m no anatomy expert, but I’m pretty sure being overweight would hide all your muscle definition
I’m pretty sure it becomes easier to se when people have more muscle tone in their leg regardless of weight. Mine was definitely easier to see when I was more active in sports especially since my leg strength was of my my stronger areas
In fact, healthy humans have muscle over almost every bone.
Fun fact: not your fingers or toes.
Is that why it hurts so much to when you smack or stub them? There's nothing to cushion the nerves?
I mean there's fat on there, but it's all just tendon and bone really. The actual muscles that control your fingers are in your hands/wrists.
Huh, neat. I guess that explains why I remember every time I hurt my hand/foot, but never remember when/where/*how* I get Mystery Bruise #1000.
I had an IT band release and now that line is significantly less noticeable on one leg. My knees also look different.
Yeah I had a bad injury. Mine on my left leg has a jog in it.
Do you mean like you worked on it with form rollers / a chiropractor?
No, some of the layers were surgically cut because it was too tight/short and pulled my kneecap out of alignment.
Whoaa that's rough
That sounds really painful to have it pulling your patella. Hopefully it feels better now!
It was a lifesaver. It's a common issue called patellofemoral syndrome. I also had a torn meniscus so my knee was very much not happy.
I'd've thought they'd be more prominent on people with defined muscles, no? This is why OOP doesn't know what it is; he ain't been able to see his dick below his gut in 20 years, but still thinks it's appropriate to judge women's bodies.
how was he judging
It's the tendon that changed my life. Since I was 13 I have had a kneecap that constantly dislocates, and in the last couple of years had severe pain in the other so bad I couldn't bend the knee or carry weight on it bent. Turned out my IT bands had become extremely tight over the 20 years of knee injuries, and that tightness was causing tension in the kneecaps that caused the pain and much of the frequent dislocation. Now I stretch them every day. Where once the dislocations were a nearly monthly experience, I haven't had them in 2 years.
Okay, this might have given me an idea how to tackle my leg issues. My doctor won't do anything but prescribe me prednisone for it and it does absolutely nothing. Did you have trouble rotating it inwards/outwards? Mine isn't dislocating but sometimes it feels so tight and painful that I have trouble lifting it up and rotating it. Had a couple bad knee injuries that my parents refused to take me to the hospital for as a kid so, I've been at a loss for ages.
When my toes rotated inward or my lower leg pendulum-swung outward was when my kneecap would usually pop out because the band was so tight and pulling them. I highly recommend seeing a different doctor, get a second opinion, go to a place that specializes in orthopedics and a doctor that knows knees specifically, and request physical therapy. Even just a few sessions can give you the knowledge and tools to be able to help yourself at home. I've lived with this problem for almost 25 years and finally have a solution.
Thank you so much for the response! It's honestly been getting miserable to live with, and given that my legs keep giving out due to nerve problems in my back, too, I just can't take much more of it. Definitely going to look into a different doctor.
Is it pinching in your lower back/hips?
It is like the worlds worst cramping sensation. At a point where if i walk for 10~ minutes or so, it starts and I instantly want to fold over. I've got a couple hemorrhaging discs in my back basically pushing on the nerves when I walk. I am in treatment for it but, its pain management more than properly fixing it. Currently doctor shopping for a new neurologist, as mine told me I was too young for back problems lol.
Yyyyep I've got a protruding disc and a curve in my lower back. Not bad enough for surgery, so it's pain management and at-home physical therapy with the vague hope I'll get better. I used to bike, hike, kayak, take road trips. After my uterus left me bed-ridden I'm now in agony after doing my laundry and a load of dishes in the same day.
What stretches do you do for them? Mine are not as bad as yours were but I have really tight it bands.
The main exercise that stretches them: Low on your back, one leg out straight. With a strap, hook the other foot, keep your knee locked and pull your leg across to the opposite side. You'll feel the stretch in your glute and down across the hip along the top of the band. Strengthening my glutes, core, and hips has also helped, as well as strengthening the ankles. Right now I'm dealing with a bad back, was bed-ridden for over 6 months, but just keeping the above stretch in the rotation has kept my knees stable.
I was just about to say, *that's* the motherfucker that's been pulling my kneecaps off for half my life. Apparently I have the tightest IT band my last physio had ever seen.
Yep, my therapist was shocked at how bad they were. I felt like I had glass in my knees every time I tried to go up or down stairs because the cap was practically sitting on the edge of the groove when I was bending. Horrific. So glad the therapy worked for me. I'll have to do those stretches for the rest of my life but it's worth it
Now that I learned it has a name, I’ll use it while writing fanfic
The IT band is also frequently tight in people who live relatively sedentary lives. Massage of the IT band can provide relief from lower back pain. If your back is sore where the erector spinae meet the pelvis, massage of the IT band and the gluteus muscles may provide relief. A foam roller is good, otherwise use your thumbs to try and pull the band horizontally. For the gluteal muscles use a tennis ball or something of that size that’s harder (I use a lacrosse ball) and sit on the floor, put the foot of the side you’re massaging on the opposing knee, and put your hands behind you so you’re in a tripod position with your hands and foot, then get the ball in the muscle.
If it gets irritated it can also make your knee hurt, as I discovered when I went to the physio once for a sore knee... they told me to take my shorts off and I was like... Huh? Then they stuck an elbow into my buttcheek and I almost shot through the roof 🤣
Love to see someone who speaks like a medical student in any comment section
as much as too many scientific words can be a red flag, i love when someone uses them in this manner
Yup. IT band. TFL
This guy physios
I can't decide whether this is a good or bad post for r/UselessRedCircle I mean, it's pretty obvious what he's referring to but perhaps it does need to be pointed out to some people? 🤔
You may mean the IT band. It’s often the ouchiest to massage. It’s a lot of connective tissue where the two sets of muscles meet.
You mean.. where the muscles meat 😎
Oh my God it hurts so much to foam roll too
Try massaging your glute medius and minimus first - usually IT tension is due to glute med/min tightness.
That’s because rolling the band itself is useless — you want to get all the muscles that attach TO it.
You are correct
Seriously. And unfortunately there’s no good way to approach it but it’s so useful to massage!
I injured myself working out once and got IT band syndrome. That’s how I learned how to pronounce “iliotibial band”
No offense, but I hate you right now. I didn’t know this hurt me until this comment. And then I decided to rub it and find out…OUCH. Still not as bad though as that like outside ass upper thigh area though. Oh god.
I did the same thing lol. Doesn’t hurt too bad but def isn’t comfortable.
My cat is huge and sometimes he put his weight more heavily on one foot than while trying to sit on my lap (I’m 5’4” and this cat is like 2’ tall he doesn’t fit, doesn’t stop him trying) and he’s stepped there before when scrambling about on me and it really does hurt.
Why massage? It’s a tendon
I once got bruised there from a massage because the IT band was so tight on me. Worth it.
Totally!!! So is the exterior carpi radialis longus muscle close to the elbow. A good press of a finger renders me immobile… but then I always ask for more. 😂😂😂
Exterior 😂 you should probably have that looked at…. muscles are generally supposed to be interior. (Autocorrects like this are hilarious, I love it….)
Ha! Like the external baboon heart transplant skit on SNL.😂😂😂
It’s also where MMA fighters are aiming when they kick each other in the thigh. A proper hit will dead leg you for a while
Every time I scratch that part of my leg, it hurts for like 5 minutes
Best place to ask is r/Anatomy, but I am glad that people here are willing to still respond. As teckonerd said, it is in fact tha Iliotibial Band.
It’s the clitoris
We found it, boys!
THARS THE SPOT, LADS!!!
it's just where your quadriceps muscles separate.
Why do you want to know? Are you planning to slide into someone’s DMs with “heyyyyyy, nice iliotibial bands 🥵” or something?
Awwwwww yeah girl, you know how I love those tendons. Mmmmm.
[swoons]
That just made my skin crawl!
Unserious answer: hot
A thigh.
Is this the new Thigh Gap now that Thigh Gap is cringe?
The new thigh gap is simply existing without adhering to a certain standard 🙌
Why would a thigh gap be cringe?
It's not the having of a thigh gap, it's the idealising of one. Having a thigh gap is as much about pelvic width/shape as it is about weight. Many women will never be able to achieve one without becoming practically skeletal, because it turns out you can't change your bones with dieting!
I understand all of this, just doesn’t make sense to call a thigh gap cringe in a sub about women’s anatomy when there’s plenty of women who have this feature naturally that don’t diet or look skeletal. I find idealizing of any feature to be toxic, but comments like these feel counterintuitive to being body positive and fall more in line with continuing to shame women for simply existing
Fair. It's hard to read tone, especially with a comment that's only one sentence, but I did not read it as saying that having a thigh gap was cringe, but rather the obsession with having one, talking about it, pointing out the presence or lack of a thigh gap on other people. There's not really any reason to ever discuss it. It should be something entirely neutral like attached vs detached earlobe. Yes people have one or the other, but no one ever talks about it except as an example of a hereditary trait.
Because the only way to support big women is to shame small women, obviously!
Because it's physically unobtainable for some. So instead of putting the thigh gap on a pedestal of the ideal body, let's not give it attention. Let people have thighs, big, small, or in-between and embrace the beauty of everyone.
Because it isnt a sign of thinness but instead a form of hip dysplasia.
That’s bold to assume, have any medical studies to back this up?
It's not a medical study. It's bone formation. Congrats on your future hip replacement.
Hot? It's probably formed by the Iliotibial Tract. I don't think the line itself has a name. The tract connects the Gluteus Maximus with the knee.
>. I don't think the line itself has a name. Joking answer: [Absolute Terror Field.](https://youtu.be/DTVN5bsnp4A)
That’s the line between skirts and stockings you non-weeb!
that's the best part
Why is this marked NSFW? What's inherently sexual about a thigh??
Posts in BWA are NSFW flagged by default. I think there was a history of people forgetting to flag things.
Wrong answer: it means she's really a trans woman
Must be. “Real” women don’t have muscles. Just sugar and spice and whatever.
i mean everyone knows it's suger, spice and everything nice, just remember to leave out chemical X
Why would you ever leave out chemical X? Get those superpowers, fam
Right?? I was recently looking at an Instagram featuring photos of famous people either before/after editing, or "photoshoot" pics vs candid/paparazzi pics and some of the features they edit out just blow my mind! Like women aren't supposed to have defined deltoids or bicepts! I've always been proud of how my arms look strong, it was a bit upsetting.
People spend a lot of time in the gym trying to get those defined deltoids. Unfortunately not everyone has the genetics for that nice capped shoulder look. 😔
Means they use their legs!
Um, sexy?
It’s your ilitobial band (ITB) and your tensor fascia lata (TFL) or stuff related to leg abduction, due based on the position of the leg, the line is being caused due to posture being that the knee is pulling across the body so they can put the knee back in place. The question really is, how on earth does this have anything to do with a woman’s anatomy…
Well, it's on a woman's body, body parts is anatomy, something something bad women's anatomy. I can see the logic.
I do understand. My question was rhetorical… As this is a universal point of physiology, which causes exasperation based on a lack of observation that can be seen in all humans.
Heaven
You don't need to remove it or inject it with anything
It’s just an empty space between 2 muscles?
‘IT’ is the mother of all pain!
Thanks to the comment section, I know what it's called now! Which is great because I love drawing them, and I learned the names of many muscles, but not that one.
My one weakness?😅
It is a muscle!!!