IT BAND

Sounds like a plan Jack!

I got a shocking IT injury a few years' back, was in denial and it slowly deteriorated until I couldn't walk the half a mile to my car one night after work! I swam a lot and cycled a bit while in recovery, but I was just told that the only thing that could heal it was time unfortunately which took around 4 months. 

I could see if we can source an expert to provide an answer with some advice and publish it on the site? 

Cheers,

Jack

Another past suffered here. I was always able to keep it under control and had actually put it down to the sticky clutch on the car!

However I attended a Retul bike fit in Edinburgh (Dougie @ Edinburgh Bicycle Fitters) for a sore right knee, and after half an hour he concluded there was nothing wrong with the bike but that I was a twisted, hunched mess!

My particular issue was because of a twisted pelvis which effectively placed my right hip behind my left when pedalling. This in turn made my right leg functionally shorter which meant I was always pedalling with the left IT band in tension.
 

Basically doing all the stuff madcarew mentions has started to straighten me out, and also just focussing on pushing my right hip forward when pedalling (obviously you tend to forget or lose concentration, hence strengthening exercises to make it 'automatic').

I had wasted a lot of time and money on orthotics, physio, shoes, pedals etc. all of which I could have avoided if I'd gone for the bike fit instead.

disclaimer: all bike fitters are not created equal unfortunately, check reviews etc.

I suffered ITB syndrome a couple of years ago when I set the saddle height too high on a new bike. What eventually shifted it was lowering the saddle and doing those stretches where you stand on one leg with the other leg up behind you and grab the raised foot and lean forward to really stretch the muscles on the front of the thigh.

Posteior chain, posterior chain, posterior chain.
Lunges, walking lunges, core exercises, sliding hamstring exercises.
ITB issues are almost invariably (especially in cyclists) due to weak core, lower back and glute / posterior muscles, or improper / inappropriate firing of the posterior muscles (Glutes, Hams). This causes the ITB, as a stabilising muscle group to exert itself to take up the slack, and relatively small muscles with a contorted tendon pathway try taking up the work of the largest muscel group in the body. So, yes, rest it, massage it, foam roll it, dry needle it if you find that helps, but exercise the hell out of your posterior chain before getting back in to training. 12 weeks is a good time because that gives you the opportunity to build some real strength in those underutilised muscles, and encourage them to fire effectively in the bicycle stroke. If you try to train at the same time as doing rehabilitation work on your posteriors, you will simply re-inforce poor firing patterns and won't take full advantage of the development work you are doing.

roll and stretch the hell out of it, if you have upped the duration of your running, cycling, that'll be what's caused it.

if you didn't get a deep tissue massage then one of those to start relaxing the muscle will help things progress quicker, 

I'm not sure if mine was caused also by a saddle too high or collapsing arches.  I've had subsequent fits and only where the orphopaedic insoles for walking and running now (I used to wear them on the bike too).  Touch wood it has never reoccured. I also stretch more;  I find a usefull and easy one is standing cross thighed and lean to the side opposite the thigh on top 

ive had off and on issues, two things on the bike id say to check - make sure the saddle is inline with the top tube and when you are pedalling, especially working hard or going uphill make sure your right knee doesnt drift left  i.e gets closer to the top tube. Thats an easy thing to monitor and correct.

for running and general muscle imbalance, check infront of a tall mirror doing a single leg squat / pistol squat that your right knee doesnt fall inward - it should stay relatively inline with your toes (unless youre very duck footed). If your right foot turns outwards a lot then it will stress your ITB as the knee falls inwards when you are running or cycling.

An MRI will determine the extent of your IT band issue, if any, as there may be other undlerlying cause/s to your tightness other than your IT band.

Several years back I had issues with my right IT due to an accident with a vehicle. I saw a sports medicine doctor who was the tent doctor for the Ironman Kona for a decade who was also an avid cyclist. His advice was to spin often and as much as I could do, but light to medium workouts only, and not out of the saddle. Come home and use a foam roller on the IT - hip to knee, the whole band. No lunges or squats as my tighness was located at my knee attachment area. Lastly, no running as it impacts the knee. Bottom line get an MRI.