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You can not stretch ITB bands - the scientific truth

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throwaway123456
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Posts: 326
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#21
I cant name the surgeon, it might bring legal consequences on me and I believe in moving forward, I believe it was a soft tissue release rather than Z Cut.
He is not a bad surgeon, the implants were very well placed with no rotation or deviation.
He did put too long a screw through my distal femur which caused me over a year of strong pain and reduced knee flexion after a year he arranged an MRI and later told me this is a life long injury that will not improve.
I quietly rejected his hypothesis and after some reading arranged my own oblique distal femur XRay ( not AP/Lateral as he had repeatedly given me) , I found a distal screw was projecting some 5 mm into my lateral TFL, I was upset he had missed this and arranged a local Ortho who under local aneasthetic removed it and i instantly gained another 10 degrees of flexion and the pain reduced markedly.
The TFL is still thick on the lateral I assume scar tissue has formed due to the repeated injury of the errant screw, so I still have some pain and reduced flexion (135 deg) but i can at least squat now.
When I last saw my surgeon he asked how my knee was, I told him it was better since i had the too long screw removed, he became quiet and changed the subject....
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sixfootandhalf
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Posts: 335
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#22
My surgeon is a professor and was trained by one of the top CLL surgeons in Baltimore so I assume he knew what he was doing, He was typically cryptic/elusive when i asked about the release (I had asked him to perform it during the CLL but he didn't consider it necessary), he often became defensive when I asked such questions, i think he was used to adoration from the Sheeple not pointed questions.
I recall the final ITB release was tough, I spent 3-4 long days in hospital with puss/fluid draining from a tube in my knee before they removed the drain and let me go.

8cm is quite a lot to lengthen imo , and age may have well been a factor, as well as the method you used.
But to lengthen 8cm without an ITB release is very hard to imagine, especially until the end.
It's unfortunate you had complications - who exactly did the ITB release, and what sort of ITB release was it i.e. Z cut, soft etc?
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throwaway123456
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Posts: 152
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#23
I stretched during CLL, it was very painfull tbh, before CLL I had a +20cm sit and reach beyond my feet, now after only 8cm CLL I can barely reach the top of my feet, I stretch every morning, I am 56 yo so this may be a factor ofc.
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throwaway123456
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Posts: 352
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#24
I left the nature of the release to the surgeon, I am almost certain he performed a soft tissue release
My walking is almost normal, my femoral Quads/hips are still tight and limit stride somewhat, I find if I walk at too fast a pace for too long (~ 1 klm) my Tibialis Frontalis gets very pumped and slows me down, maybe it is overcompensating for my femoral tightness ?
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sphenopetroclival
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Posts: 398
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#25
My surgeon is a professor and was trained by one of the top CLL surgeons in Baltimore so I assume he knew what he was doing, He was typically cryptic/elusive when i asked about the release (I had asked him to perform it during the CLL but he didn't consider it necessary), he often became defensive when I asked such questions, i think he was used to adoration from the Sheeple not pointed questions.
I recall the final ITB release was tough, I spent 3-4 long days in hospital with puss/fluid draining from a tube in my knee before they removed the drain and let me go.

none of this matters. read the case reports they've published and formulate an opinion on the pearls of their technique after you've done that.
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sixfootandhalf
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Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#26
Exactly. A proper ITB release may well be essential.
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sixfootandhalf
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Posts: 487
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#27
From: http://www.limblengtheningforum.com/index.php?topic=66296.155

"RB from the forum basically had to go to Greece and have a proper ITB release / Z -cut with Goitikas:

"Hey guys,

Just discharged from the hospital after the ITB release. Doctor came to visit me before I left and said everything went well, he released both IT bands completely and also aligned my hips while I was in surgery as my left had become crooked due to the left ITB being tighter.

Pain has been very minimal, the only pain I have is at the incision site (4/10) when I bend my legs in bed or when I bend them to walk but no pain otherwise and doctor said incision pain will get improve over the next couple of days. But holy crap I am excited to tell you guys that my wide legs are completely gone and my legs are 100% in like a normal person when I have been walking with the crutches! My duck ass has also 100% disappeared when putting my legs together! I knew doing the release would help but I didn't think it would work instantly for both duck ass and wide legs. I will be mainly using crutches for the next 2 weeks or so as my legs are still weak and heavy from surgery but I am so glad I decided to undergo this procedure.

This really demonstrates that an ITB release should be done for all femur lengthening's. Some people may get lucky and not get hit with wide legs / duck ass but majority of people will have some form of issue that arise from tight IT bands such as a hip deformity on top of the wide legs and duck ass. I still recommend Betz in the current LL market as his nail is truly weight bearing and I'd still choose that over Precise, however be aware that not doing an ITB release can cause major issues and be ready to do it with another doctor willing to perform it unless you want to spend months and months rehabbing after lengthening with no guarantee that it will fix the issues caused by tight IT bands."

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TheDream
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Posts: 164
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#28
So the IT Band heals again after the release, and as it heals it adapts to the new femur length, is this correct?
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sixfootandhalf
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Posts: 187
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#29
It heals well.

Take a look at Sirstretchalot's thread
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jerrytheman
Verified Member
Posts: 40
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#30
Sometimes it heals too fast the patient has to get it re released, pretty rare though. But 100% get an ITB release if your goal is 5cm+ femur
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Jaki19
Verified Member
Posts: 272
Joined: Jun 2026
Posted on Jun 18, 2026, 8:34 pm
#31
5-6cm doesn’t require an itb release
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