Your healing timeline is dependent on the cause of pain
Why this matters:
Each tissue in our body has a different healing timeline. They all go through a similar process which includes inflammation (swelling, redness, pain), proliferation (tissue healing), maturation (strengthening and resilience). Here are some healing times of the most commonly injured tissues:
Spinal discs – six weeks
Fractured vertebrae – six to 12 weeks
Sprained ligament – two weeks to 12 months
Torn muscle – six weeks or longer (depending on if surgery was done)
Nerves- six to 12 weeks
On average, tissues will heal around the 12 week mark (more or less). But why are we still in pain? The key is to identify the cause. It is usually due to 3 major reasons: The tissue is continuously irritated or harmed due to your behaviors; there is a true mechanical block to your pain, and the healing process is done; your nervous system (brain, not your head) is conditioned to feel the pain (think a habit).
Action steps:
Determine your cause of pain. Do you need help? Ask your doctor/provider or book a free consultation with us today to learn the next steps.
If your pain is being continuously irritated, find the activities that make it worse. Stop them or modify them.
If there is a true mechanical block, find the positions or exercises that provide relief.
If your nervous system is still on high guard, think about slowly adding in activities that are not painful, but start very slowly. Example: try adding in an extra 5 minutes a day of walking into your routine.
There is a way to recover, but the key is understanding what is causing your pain.
