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Originally Posted by BamaDave
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You always crack me up.
Your ITB is certainly near the arrow, but so is your lateral collateral ligament - unlikely, but possible.
Don't worry about the lying down photo. I think you're tight there, although if the ITB was really tight you would see a big tight band down the outside of the leg (see my photo).
Your glutes look alright (1 leg stand and lunge photos), and the ease you have with the pelvic movement support this.
I have attached some photos of what to look for at the foot and ankle (the 'model' isn't perfect, but I'll not highlight my imperfections
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I haven't worked out how to add photos apart from as attachments. The following descriptions are what I was trying to convey in the photos:
Foot_Ankle Position: should be able to maintain the arch of the foot without the big tibialis anterior tendon at the front of the ankle showing (see 'Undesirable Foot Ankle' for this tendon. It shouldn't even flicker. You will probably need to put a mirror on the ground to see this in an upright position). Flat foot is also no good.
ITB Stretch 1 instructions (photo shows for right leg): lie on the edge of couch/bed, close to left hand side. Lift L leg and move R leg towards L, dropping it off the couch. Place L leg on R knee to keep the knee across and down. You want to keep a 'posterior pelvic tilt' throughout. To understand this, imagine what a dog does when it brings it's tail between it's legs - it's the same pelvic movement. You will be tightening your lower abs and glutes together when doing this correctly.
ITB Stretch 2: Picture shows stretch for L ITB. Lay on R side and reach back for left ankle with R hand (like a quad stretch). Place R foot on front/outside of L knee to keep knee pushed back and down to the floor. See where my L finger is pointing? This area of the trunk should remain in contact with the floor - it will tend to lift as you push the knee towards the floor if your ITB is tight. Also, I would hope you can get the knee
much lower than the inflexible dork in the photo can
. You should also maintain a posterior pelvic tilt throughout this one as well.
These are both awkward stretches, but they are (almost) the only ones where I can feel the end of my ITB being stretched. I took a photo of another one, but my form was really bad (knowing where and how my joints move I often just get into a position by feel, but this photo was not adequate for teaching purposes!).
Geez, this assessment/exercise prescription thing is hard over the internet, but we'll do our best. Have a try of the stretches and see of you can hold your arch up without tibialis anterior and let me know.
PS you might see the cat behind my leg in the standing exercises - this is the bugger that tries to knock me over. He is so enthusiastic with his smooches that his skull making contact with my shin bone actually makes an audible clunk!