@Retlouping @rwilly2003 @tomgoom @KThorborg @DerekGriffin86 @AdamMeakins
1: The aim of the Ober test and the Modified Ober test is to assess the ITB.
2: The Ober test and Modified Ober test claims to assess ITB tightness
In the paper by Willett et al., 2016, they tested whether the ITB limits hip adduction during the Ober test and Modified Ober test. One would expect an INCREASE in hip adduction if the ITB was to be cut.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26755689/
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The 2 tests do not assess the ITB but in fact structures proximal to the ITB, such as GMed, GMin, and the hip capsule. What's more, the ITB does not limit hip adduction to a significant degree when placed in the Ober test or the Modified Ober test.
In the paper by Friede et al., 2020, they tested whether ITBS is caused by ITB tightness, and looked at the impact of 6 weeks of physiotherapy on ITBS stiffness.
sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
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What they found was:
1. There is NO increased ITB tension is the affected leg compared to the non-affected leg.
2. Runners with ITBS do NOT have increased tightness in their affected compared to healthy controls.