IT band issue?

[bigbonustoday]

I started having pain in the IT band area lateral to my left knees about 2 months ago, after a heavy Squat/DL day.

The pain is not constant. It's a twitching/throbbing/spasmodic kind which comes and goes irregularly with no particular pattern. It gets worse when I do a deep glute stretch like pulling my knees into my chest lying down. Also gets worse if I run or hike.

I went to a sports medicine specialist MD who diagnosed it as "distal ITBS with component of PFPS" and advised physical therapy.

I haven't had great experience with PT in the past so I decided to rehab it myself. I've been doing squats and DLs with low weights and higher reps every other day for about 2 months now. But the pain never went away so I'm getting a little concerned. I know ligament injuries tend to take longer to heal but 2 months seem like enough time.

The pain was never bad and never affected my walking or any other daily functions. But every time I try to go back to heavier weights it would get worse so I would lower weight again. I've been stuck in this cycle for about 3-4 weeks now.

Is there anything I should be doing differently?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Is this the first little irritating pain you've ever had? Why don't you stop doing the "glute stretch" and just train?