8 months of Persistent Left Knee Pain - ITB Syndrome(?)

Hi! I’ve had a long term injury that hasn’t improved after multiple doctors and treatments so I’m coming here to see if anyone has any suggestions or dealt with a similar issue.

Since Nov. 2023 I’ve had increasingly persistent left knee pain which has resulted in me not running since Dec. 2023 (Dallas Marathon). The pain was initially only on long runs and has since moved into persistent everyday pain (4-5/10) that shoots up to 8-10+/10 when attempting to run or bike. Before this I ran between 20-40 miles regularly for the past 4 years without any major injuries including multiple half and full marathons.

I’ve seen 3 doctors (sports med, spine/pain, and ortho surgeon) had X-rays and MRIs of my left hip and knee (all 3 doctors agree they don’t see any structural issues).

Prescribed/attempted treatments include:

• PT 2x week for 8+ weeks (including muscle scrapping, dry needling w/ electrical stimulation)

• PRP & Steroid injections of left knee

• meds: celecoxib & meloxicam

• long durations of rest (stopped all forms of exercise/activity for long durations)

The most consistent diagnosis I’ve received is IT Band Syndrome — however nobody has any idea why it’s persisted so long or with this degree of pain and nobody has any new treatment ideas.

I really miss running 😞