Hey guys. Dr. Axe here. Today, I’m gonna be showing you how to stretch out your IT bands and your glutes. And these are two really common problem areas that a lot of people—especially runners or people that sit all day…. And a major issue if you have tight IT bands and a tight…glute, like your piriformis muscle, is knee pain. So if you have any type of knee pain or hip pain whatsoever, it can be caused from really tight IT bands and glutes. And so these are stretches that can help. I’m also gonna show you how to use a foam roller. You can just start out by stretching your IT bands. You’re gonna lean into a wall, cross one foot over into another, and you’re gonna really just stretch into it. You should feel it in this entire hip area right here—region—you’re gonna lean into it. You’re gonna hold it for about 20 to 30 seconds. Come up. Then you’re gonna do it a second time. Lean into it like so. You’re gonna move your body this way, and you should feel it in this entire hip region right here.

We’re working the upper part. Stretching the upper part of the IT band. The next thing we’re gonna do is come over and start stretching your glute. We’re gonna put one foot over your knee. You’re gonna lean back like this, and to really feel it, you’re gonna stick your butt out. Kinda tuck those hips like so. And you’re gonna really start feeling it in this glute area. Come back up, stick it out. And you’re really gonna feel that stretching there in that area. Next thing we’re gonna do is get down. We’re gonna actually…stretch your glutes a little bit more. And so to stretch your glutes, you’re gonna get down like so, put one foot over another, and just kinda lean this way, stretching it. Another thing you could do is kinda hug it, that leg, into your chest. Pulling it up like so, feeling the stretching in the glutes. And if you wanna target an area called your piriformis…. If you’ve ever had sciatic pain or you’re feeling major glute tightness, you can actually lean back on your back, cross your knee like we did earlier, and start bringing this forward.

And you’re gonna feel that stretching in this entire area. Again, grab right here and pull forward. Now, this next exercise is used using a foam roller. You can get a big foam roller. You can find these easy on Amazon.com. Or, just a small foam roller like so. You’re gonna start rolling out the IT bands as well as the glute area. And to start really stretching this IT band, you’re gonna come on a form roller like so. And you’re simply going to roll back and forth like this, on one leg, all the way down. And by the way, this can be a little bit painful at first. So at first, you may hold yourself up a little bit more. As time goes on, you’ll drop down into it. And then you’re really rolling out.

And this is gonna help in reducing the knee pain. The other thing you’re gonna do is come on top here with your glute, this one leg out. All pressure on this one side, and you’re simply gonna roll your glutes like this. By the way, a lot of times, tight glutes or a tight low back—if you have low back pain—can can also be attributed to hamstring tightness. You can also drop this down farther. And also, really stretch out and roll out that hamstring area.

So again, if you can get a foam roller, again, almost anywhere. Typically it costs anywhere from ten to twenty dollars, you can really roll out those areas. This is gonna help stretch..and reduce the tension in your IT bands, reduce the tension in your glutes. A few other nutrition tips: if you’ve got a lot of tight muscles, make sure you stay hydrated. Getting plenty of magnesium and potassium in your diet…by getting more fruits and vegetables is great. Coconut water and fruits loaded with potassium, nuts and seeds and vegetables are full of magnesium, as well as organic meat products and wild fish. Load up on those foods, do these exercises. This is gonna help you eliminate knee pain. It’s gonna prevent injuries, help you stay loose, younger, longer. Hey, I hope you’ve enjoyed this video on how to stretch out your IT bands and glutes.

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