Javier Rojo of Elgin, IL has been playing soccer since the age of seven. A collegiate player at Judson University, Javier continued playing after graduation for a Chicago area club team. During one of his first club games, he passed the ball to his teammate and heard a pop. “I knew a couple people who went to ATI, some of my Judson teammates. They sounded like a credible company and they have a good reputation,” said Javier, as he described his first visit to ATI in Elgin for a complimentary injury screening.
Tina Vandenbroucke, physical therapist, assessed Javier and quickly found that his overuse injury would require an MRI. Once he started therapy, Javier made it very clear that his main goal was to get his knee healthy, because he now had a goal in mind.
Headed for the Big Leagues
A fellow teammate convinced him that he should try out for a higher division. He considered the MLS (Major League Soccer), the top division in the U.S., but made the decision to try out for a league in Europe. If his soccer career was going to happen, his knee would need a full recovery before boarding that flight.
“Javier had a mechanical problem with his knee joint which required a lot of hands-on treatment – joint mobilization and manual therapy. He was such a hard-working patient and I could tell he did his home exercise program to reinforce what we did in the clinic,” said Vandenbroucke, who has been practicing physical therapy for 25 years.
Javier left for Norway in the summer of 2013 with full intention to play for the Norwegian league but he soon learned the Rorvik Football Club was in need of a left defender. Within days, he arrived in Sweden, tried out, signed a contract and began the 2013 season.
“I was a bit nervous, but not because I was worried about measuring up. It was nervousness from the uncertainty of my right knee injury. After fifteen minutes, I knew I had made a drastic improvement,” Javier remembers thinking at his first training session with the team in Sweden. “I remember thinking: ‘It works… my knee is feeling great!’”
Javier played the full season in Sweden without re-injury and returned to the U.S..
GOAL!
“I achieved my goal with ATI. As athletes, if we go for therapy we often may have lofty goals, but we put all the pressure on the therapist and sometimes we are unrealistic. I went to ATI and Tina made sure she had an understanding of the nature of my injury, and she was reassuring and realistic about what it would take to get me back on the field.”
The offer still stands for Javier to play in Sweden again, but he may stay local to pursue some business opportunities.
“I wanted to prove to myself that I could play at a higher level, and I did. Thanks to Tina for taking me under her wing. It was a great experience.”