IF you need to see a medical professional for an injury - what is the best route?

[Jacobrey5]

Wondering thoughts on best route to take for a chronic injury or pain -

A couple things I've gathered from SS (and I believe these to be true!)

1. I understand that lifting form is the first thing that needs to be corrected or at least you need to make sure your form is not causing or limiting your bodys ability to heal - lets say thats squared away (not saying mine is dialed in yet but for sake of discussion)
2. Just because someone has a title like Doctor, Physical Therapist, Chiropractor, Sports Medicine etc doesnt necessarily mean they have any idea on how best to help you -

But that still begs the question - if you are dealing with a chronic knee injury/pain (which I am but also asking in the broader sense for a broader audience) what would be your recommended route?

There are clinics like Airrosti which on one hand sound okay since one of their goals is to fix you without surgery but I'm also skeptical of some kid fresh out of college telling me that i just need to foam roll with him once a week - no idea what their qualifications are to work there

I have seen a sports physical therapist b(before starting SS) who basically told me that i had overloaded my knees tendons, then underloaded them due to the ensuing pain and that i just need to slowly reload them - I am also skeptical of this diagnosis

The other option is to see an orthopedist and get some imaging done but again, I feel like the odds of an ortho telling me that squatting heavy is bad for me and telling me to RICE and then charging me over $1000 is highly probable -

There are internet folks like Knees Over Toes guy who advocate for strengthening the knees through full range of motion which also generally sounds better and smarter than some ortho trying to rush you into a knee surgery but also unsure if his advice/program is of any use -

Just curious any thoughts on best course of action if someone truly does need to get some kind of 'help' for an injury -

Thanks,
Jake

[Griffin727]

An orthopedic surgeon's job is to put anatomy in a spot so it can heal. If tendons were vascular and had a better blood supply we wouldn't need them as often. Your job is to filter through BS in the medical system sadly. Find a good orthopedic surgon that works on the area that you injuried. You then get a MRI to see the damage. The medical provider puts this order in. After this you ask yourself these questions once the results come back.
1. Is a mostly full rehab possible without surgery? For many full thickness tears this is a no.
2. How long have I tierd rehabbing this and is my rehab echoing the stress, recovery, adaption cycle for my injurie? (Can I do more today then 48-75 hours ago)

If these are a no then you would prob need surgery, so you can heal and go through the stress, recovery, adaption cycle. This must happen if you want to heal. Even in tendons with tendonitis, they must be made to heal.

If you have a knee issue the best way to strengthen it is the squat. If the range of motion hurts then do a box squat. Do a squat with a weight you can do (painless ish) and start the stress, recovery, adaption cycle. After your surgery listen to your surgeon about how long to rest post op, but at some point you will need to start doing some kind of squat to fully heal. (Low bar back squat).