Bill, Julie, Bryan, et al, plus the less-qualified-yet-firsthand-experienced who wander in here...
I know everyone who ventures into this forum greatly appreciates your volunteered time and expertise as well as the time, effort, and expense saved of either seeking out local (and perhaps less knowledgeable) assistance in dealing with our issues or NOT seeking out assistance and dealing with our injuries in a less-than-professional manner (as coaches everywhere are stereotyped as saying, "take a salt pill and walk it off").
It's immeasurably helpful to, at the very least, be pointed in the right direction in looking for answers or even be given a more immediate diagnosis here and, if suggested to see a professional, have in-hand some pre-conceived expectations and questions to ask going in. Personally, my doctors have been mildly but pleasantly surprised at the information and questions I had when seeing them for problems I first discussed here (I haven't revealed my sources... yet
).
I don't know about other people, but regardless of how mild or how severe an injury may be, I don't care so much about that as I do about knowing what the problem is and how to go about getting on the road to recovery. For example, my tibialis anterior issue was more frustrating, though less severe, than my hamstring tear because there were a lot more question marks, guesswork, and troubleshooting involved. However, I was given some direction here as to what to look for, what to ask, and of course, the ultimate "see a doctor"
I imagine dealing with injuries is a lot like working at a car repair shop or computer help desk: people only come to you when something's wrong, and they're probably not too thrilled about it. They just want it fixed as quickly and cheaply as possible, and the more time and/or cost involved, the less receptive they can be. I've been apprehensive about seeing doctors for my issues because (a) I'm unsure of the cost involved, a bit of a concern for someone like me on a tight budget, and (b) I'm one of those people who just don't go to doctors (though it hasn't hurt that one of the two hot nurses in that office hits on me whenever she takes my vitals)
So anwyay, yeah, thanks.