"Injurymap is brilliant. That's why I've been using it for 8 months now"
Ivan Olsen is 44 years old and is employed by the Danish court system. For 20 years, Ivan has suffered from various problems in his loin and back. The past 10 years have been especially bad.
"In my mid-20's, I saw a chiropractor who could fix my pain by using his elbow to put pressure on my loin. But during the past 5 to 6 years, the pain has increased again. The pain has been so bad that I had to stay in bed for a week and only got up once to see my chiropractor," Ivan says, and emphasizes that he didn't do much physical exercise before using Injurymap.
"Those couples of times when I trained as part of my physiotherapy, I had to use printed exercise guides that use stick figures," Ivan says, and points to a small pile of paper scattered across his dinner table.
"These exercises are so boring. When the physiotherapist hands them to you, you already know how the motivation will disappear as soon as you get home and you won't see any progress" he states.
A private doctor introduced Ivan to Injurymap
In February 2017, Ivan went to see his doctor to get a recommendation for a physiotherapist. His doctor introduced him to a specialist in back pain.
"He put me on the examination table, pulled my legs towards him, exerted a little pressure on the lowest part of my back and asked me to push back against the pressure. I did as he told me and after 5 minutes of treatment, I was almost good to go. Pure magic!" says Ivan Olsen before remembering how he was fearful that he would have to go home with yet another series of stick figures to guide him in his exercise.
"I immediately thought »now he is going to pull these damned stick figures out --- and I will just end up not performing my exercises like I am supposed to«. Instead, he showed me this new exercise app. I thought »well, I can give it a try,« Ivan says and adds:
"I could very quickly see the brilliance of Injurymap. I feel like I discovered a new world. I have been using the app for 8 months now. In comparison, I never managed to stick with my exercise for more than two weeks when I used training guides printed on paper".
Injurymap pushes you towards a positive lifestyle
Ivan has become so thrilled about the exercises in the Injurymap app that he has taken an active hand in his own health and went to see a dietitian. Besides the persistent training 3 times a week via Injurymap, he has used the past months to combine loin and back exercises with 30 minutes of walking and running on a treadmill.
"A while ago, my physiotherapist told me that a partial reason for my back problems is my overweight. That's why I used my health insurance to see a dietitian who can help me put together a sensible and varied diet" says Ivan who has also intensified his physical training through guidance and counseling from a physiotherapist.
"I showed Injurymap to my physiotherapist and she agrees that it is brilliant because it helps me eliminate my pain, increase my mobility and help me build up my body strength," he says with a huge smile and states:
"Ever since I made an agreement with my physiotherapist to perform the exercises in the app three times a week, my need to see her has decreased. In the beginning, I came by every week. Then every other week. And now I only see her once every three weeks".
The road to a pain-free life
According to Ivan Olsen, Injurymap has been an enormously effective tool in his quest to finally wave goodbye to his loin and back pain. As a result, he is now more autonomous than he ever has been before.
By taking his health into his own hands, he has lost between 8 to 9 kilos since August 2017 and also reduced the amount of pain-relieving pills he takes from three to just two per day.
To Ivan, the recipe for a pain-free life is to maintain a healthy diet, run on his treadmill and perform his exercises with Injurymap 3 to 4 times per week.
"If I experience pain in my back, then it's because of fatigue after exercising. My training has made my back muscles so strong that I can do everything by myself now. Before, I couldn't do anything when the pain flared up --- not even put on my pants or shoes".
