The best are when you go through a couple and they can't figure out WTF is wrong and you finally get one who's like "oh yeah, I can't believe they didn't check for this, circumstances and your symptoms make it pretty likely and it's not uncommon" and you're like "yeah, I f*cking know, I read some Wikipedia before the first visit and have just been walking you all through the process of figuring it out, while I pay you for the privilege, but I can't push too hard or you'll think I'm a crank".

Yeah, same here. My hot take is: if you're not an elite athlete then you're basically shit out of luck and you are on your own, regardless of how much money you might be capable and/or interested in spending on your problems.

I have retrocalcaneal bursitis and a chronic muscle tear in my left calf. I ran through nearly a dozen people, specialists and physical therapists and physiotherapists, and no one could help. They wanted to give me cortisone injections in my heel or sent me to the ER for DVT for the calf. I spent a lot of money to _not_ be helped by these people over a period of 4 or 5 years.

I eventually found a legit physiotherapist (he works with some local athletes... MMA fighters and a couple of NHL players, so there it is) who wasn't just out to take my money from me. Through him, the chronic muscle tear is now managed completely (when I feel it coming back, I give him a call and pop in for a few sessions of excruciating deep cross-friction massage that keeps me exercising without needing breaks) and the bursitis is managed entirely by myself through a daily stretching and mobility routine that he helped me develop.

I am honestly concerned about what happens to me in the future. If he retires or moves or if I move. If I have new minor/major injuries to contend with at that point then I'm going to be back to this dreadful search or worse, having to give up specific exercises that I enjoy.

edit/ Oh, and another horror story that I managed to forget about. I popped 2 ribs last fall (brain fog, was lifting too heavy while I was tired and just trying to grind a workout out) and couldn't get it properly diagnosed either. Went to my GP, he thought it was a muscle strain. Sure, okay. I believed him. So, I had a week long backpacking trip 3 days later that I ended up going on anyway. Hurt like hell. I knew it wasn't a strain by the time I got home. Popped in to see my physiotherapist and he was able to isolate and diagnose the issue in just a couple of minutes. How can my GP miss this? You literally rub your fingers between my shoulder blade and spine and it was as clear as day. I went to a Chiropractor for a few sessions, in addition to some rehab at home like rolling on a racquet ball, and now everything is back to normal. This sort of shit, "professionals" who are utterly horrible at their chosen profession, borders on fraud for me.

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All for 3x45s holds. Don't overdo it to the point where you are sore from stretching.

I also stretched my hamstrings and hip flexors. I do believe that it's all related. Specifically, I know that hip flexor tightness and weak glutes can put more strain on the IT band.

You can strengthen glutes with planks, glute bridges, and step ups.