The Health & Fitness Show with Tracy - Podcast
The Health & Fitness Show with Tracy is your source of practical, uplifting, and science-rooted guidance for living a stronger, safer, and more confident life — at any age.
Hosted by Tracy Markley, internationally recognized fitness educator, award-winning author, stroke recovery specialist, and creator of the bestselling books The Stroke Recovery Workbook, Brain & Body, and Balance Walking and Fall Prevention, this podcast blends expertise with heart. Tracy’s decades of experience helping stroke survivors, seniors, and everyday adults rebuild strength, balance, mobility, and hope shine through every episode.
Whether you’re looking to improve your proprioception, feel steadier on your feet, better understand your body, prevent falls, recover from injury, or simply age with power and grace, this show gives you real tools — not fluff. Tracy brings compassion, clear explanations, and encouraging motivation to help you feel capable, empowered, and ready to move forward.
🎧 Tune in for:
- Balance, gait, and fall-prevention tips
- Stroke recovery insights from one of the most trusted voices in the field
- Fitness and mobility guidance for seniors and pre-seniors
- Brain–body education and nervous system support
- Strength training, walking programs, and functional movement
- Real stories from people who regained independence and confidence
- Encouragement, mindset support, and realistic strategies you can use today
- Hearing loss
- Fitness and exercise for all ages
- Muscles, joints, ligaments, fascia and more
- and much more
⭐ Learn More & Stay Connected
Website: https://www.tracymarkley.com
Books by Tracy Markley: https://www.amazon.com/author/tracymarkley
YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/@TracyMarkley
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tracy.markley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tracyfitt
⭐ Your Host
Tracy Markley is a fitness trainer, educator, and author known for blending anatomy, neuroscience, and compassion to help others move better and live better. Her work has transformed lives around the world — from stroke survivors rebuilding mobility to adults who simply want their body to feel like home again
The Health & Fitness Show with Tracy - Podcast
The Truth About IT Band Pain — And What Helps (or Hurts)
The iliotibial (IT) band is one of the most talked-about areas of the body — and one of the most misunderstood.
In this educational episode, fitness professional and movement specialist Tracy L. Markley breaks down what the IT band truly is, what it does, and why so many people experience discomfort or irritation along the outside of the thigh.
Tracy explains how the IT band works with surrounding muscles such as the glutes, TFL (tensor fasciae latae), and hips to stabilize the knee and support walking, running, and daily movement. She discusses the common causes of IT band tightness, why overworking or misusing these muscles can lead to inflammation, and why improper foam rolling can sometimes make things worse.
Listeners will gain a clearer understanding of how to care for the IT band safely, how to avoid unnecessary tissue irritation, and how proper alignment and muscle balance support long-term comfort.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:
- What the IT band is and the purpose it serves
- How the IT band connects the hip and knee
- Why IT band pain develops and what aggravates it
- How muscle imbalances and alignment issues affect the IT band
- Why aggressive foam rolling can cause more harm than good
- Safer, smarter ways to care for the hip–thigh area
- How understanding the body reduces fear and improves recovery
This episode gives listeners the accurate education they need to move better, feel better, and protect one of the body’s most essential stabilizing structures.
🌐 LEARN MORE FROM TRACY
Website: www.tracymarkley.com
Amazon Author Page: www.amazon.com/author/tracymarkley
Instagram: www.instagram.com/motivate_healthyfit