Which came first, your aching foot? Sharp pain in your knee? Or a throbbing lower back?  Chances are, some people blamed it on age or over-exertion – which can be true. However, with a little retrospection, you can probably remember a seemingly, insignificant injury that lead to chronic pain.

For me, it was (and always has been), my ankles.  I was an active kid who played every sport – if given the chance, and had to keep up with my older brothers.  Mornings started with bike rides; by noon we moved on to stomping and climbing through the woods, followed by evening soccer/softball/basketball/volleyball practice. As the moon was rising, we would wrestling so rough – and loudly- that my parents would swear they were hearing thunder.  With an impenetrable exterior, I never dreamed of getting hurt. Bruises were badges of honor and any ache or pain was categorized as just part of life.

I maintained that mindset, until I broke my ankle in second grade. Then it was a finger playing dodgeball, then a meniscus tear in my knee playing basketball.  Throw in a broken arm through the humerus, a concussion, hyphema (look it up), and hip sprain and tear (it’s possible) and alternating ankle sprains too numerous to count and you end up with me.  Fast-forward a decade or two and you’d find a self-proclaimed “old athlete” who threw her back out for a week demonstrating the hula-hoop to her kids at the school field day.

Where does that leave me now? A patient of Dr. Rob Fast at the Back Pain Clinic.  I was referred to Dr. Fast by a friend and immediately bonded with him (he too is an athlete.) His experience treating athletes, as well as maintaining his own body for competition, gave him a fast track to diagnosing my issues.

If my story sounds like your story, stop living in pain and visit the Back Pain Clinic Belleville.