Injections Help Ironman Athlete Compete

Brad Williams is no stranger to pushing through pain. He crossed his first triathlon finish line in 1981 and has been dedicated to endurance sports ever since. Today he owns Northwest Tri & Bike in Kent, WA where he helps other people achieve their sports goals. But last year one of his personal goals was threatened by lower back pain.

Watch Brad’s Story

Brad was registered to swim, bike and run the Ironman in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. His back pain began to get in the way of his training. Brad explains, “We were at a point where people were telling me, ‘Oh you should have surgery,’ and my first impulse was I didn’t want to do surgery.”

Rather than pulling out of the race, Brad turned to RAYUS for pain injections in his lower back. Dr. Steven Pollei, a radiologist at RAYUS in Federal Way, WA sees a lot of endurance athletes like Brad and says they are a unique kind of patient. “People who do Ironman are different than those of us in the real world.” He says they are passionate about getting back to their sport, which can lead to impatience with recovery.

After undergoing injections, Brad was able to make it all the way through the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile marathon in Coeur d’Alene. According to him, the injections made a difference.

“I was thrilled just to get across the finish line,” Brad says.

He continues to recover and push forward. Now busy training with his triathlon group Raise the Bar, Brad has signed up for two more Ironman competitions this year. While injuries like his can crush endurance athletes’ dreams, Brad says many will find a way to keep competing. “Definitely the group is committed to figuring out and getting creative to be able to continue to do their training and accomplish the goal of finishing that race.”