I often hear from people that they foam roll their IT bands often and then how much it hurts, but that they need to do it to help their knees or hips or back. While the foam roller is an effective tool for certain things, lengthening the iliotibial band doesn't appear to be one of them. Fascia has been found to be very difficult to deform or change. Muscular tissue, however, isn't as difficult. A recent study found that foam rolling to the gluteal muscle group was more effective at increasing hip ROM than was foam rolling the IT band. So, next time focus more on those butt muscles when foam rolling to improve your hip and knee troubles.

THE EFFECTS OF AN ACUTE BOUT OF FOAM ROLLING ON HIP RANGE OF MOTION ON DIFFERENT TISSUES