I had patient today that had put off getting their back pain checked because they were afraid they would be told by the doc to stop running, which this particular patient loves to do. I hear this all the time and for good reason. Many regular docs simply do not understand the athletic mindset. To them, if you are doing something that hurts, you should just stop doing it. No consideration is given to what our loves and interests and goals with our sporting and hobby endeavors do for our quality of life. It is the precise reason proper assessment by the RIGHT professionals is so important.
Nothing against your primary doc, but advanced structural biomechanics as they relate to sports performance, pain and mechanisms of injury and treatment are generally not in their wheelhouse. Too many times I have met with patients who simply figured they had to stop doing what they loved or just live with the pain when there were very viable treatment options available to get them better.
We have had patients come to us that have been to some pretty prestigious places like the Mayo clinic that had not sought further care sooner because they figured if “X,Y,or Z” could not help, and they are “the best” what was the use of looking any further. Just remember, NO ONE is “the best” at everything. It pays to keep looking and keep exploring your options until you get the result you desire.
