I have been astonished in the past just how much the sports injury clinic in Colchester hospital helped me with two separate issues. Both had given several months of pain. A shoulder after a particularly hard service at tennis, and an ankle after tripping out of a LHR hotel on the way to a sim session. That was a real bad one, and all the more surprising cos I was doing a lot of sports then.
The doc made me stand on the good foot and close my eyes. Fine. Then on the bad foot. When I closed my eyes, I fell on his desk. He said I torn the sensory nerves. About 6 weeks of one day a week at the hospital and the correct procedures at home, and I was running again. Prior to that, nearly a year had gone by, and I thought I'd never run again because of pain.
With the shoulder, I still recall the physio saying, "let pain be your guide" while lying on my back, arms bent at the elbows, trying to allow the weight to reach the floor level with the top of my head. A few weeks and I was fine, but months had gone by with no improvement before help.