Exercisers can develop IT band issues

Q: I’m an enthusiastic bike rider, but I can’t ride because I have IT band syndrome. My doctor has given me a physical therapy prescription. Will that get me back on my bike? — Jerome K., Kansas City, Missouri

A: Problems related to the IT (iliotibial) band can affect anyone who exercises regularly. This noncontractile, fibrous/fascia band stretches down the outside of your leg from your buttocks over your knee and attaches to your tibia; its job is to stabilize your leg and knee. But it’s not a muscle, so it’s hard to get it to relax once it becomes irritated or inflamed.

Rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE) are your first line of defense. It’ll take anywhere from three to six weeks to clear it up.

Talk with your physical therapist about the most helpful stretches and using a foam roller.

Then before you get back on the bike, have someone check your positioning. If your toe is turned in on the pedal or your seat is out of position, that can affect how your IT band crosses over your knee .

Q: With all the talk about government shutdowns and de-funding of health initiatives, does the government still have the ability to protect us from a flu epidemic and pandemics like Zika and Ebola? — Mika Z., Orlando, Florida

A: Unfortunately, time is running out for the Global Health Security Agenda. Funding for the initiative will run dry in 2019.

This $5.4 billion program was set up in 2014 to stop the Ebola virus. The whole idea behind America’s support of such a major initiative is to fight dangerous infectious diseases at their source. These days, any infection may be only one plane ride away.

This initiative trains doctors and medical assistants and helps underfunded institutions upgrade their labs. Without funding, the Wall Street Journal reports, the CDC will have to downsize its work in 39 countries.

This severe downsizing could have profound repercussions, because, as a study in PLOS Pathogens points out, there are “layers of complexity to containing these infectious diseases that affect not only the health but the economic stability of societies.”

And then there’s the 2017-2018 flu season! At last count, more than 55

U.S. children have died, and there’s a record number of hospitalizations. Plus, a bird flu (H7N9) in China has jumped from chickens to humans for the first time; it’s killed a quarter of those infected.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.