How long until I recover from an injury?
How long until I recover from an injury?
As we touched on last week, how long until I recover can vary depending on structures involved. This week we will focus on the healing time of soft tissues (muscles, tendons, and ligaments). Soft tissue repair can be broken down to 3 phases: Inflammation, Repair, and Remodelling phase. Each phase holds its own importance in recovery, as well as its own time frame.
Inflammation Phase
As a lot of us may have experienced when we first get hurt is swelling or bruising around the area. Some of the signs that may signal the beginning of inflammation is: Heat, Redness, Swelling, Pain, Loss of Function.
So we might ask what is the point of this and how long will it last?
Our body uses inflammation to bring in more blood and nutrients to the injured site to help begin the recovery process. The aim of inflammation is to contain and limit the injury. Initiate the repair process and splinting of the injured area. As this can be an uncomfortable feeling, we may think it will never end. However the typical length of this inflammation phase lasts anywhere up to 72 hours. This is not to say that we will have no swelling after 72 hours as we may see some lasting effects.
Repair Phase
When recovering from an injury the repair phase begins by overlapping with the inflammation phase. Within this phase we will see the beginning of scar tissue being formed. This scar tissue is weak and randomly laid down to quickly repair the injured area. Within this phase we will see an increase in movement, and decreased levels of pain. This phase can last anywhere up to 2-6 weeks.
Remodelling phase
The remodelling phase is further broken down to two stages. In the first phase the weaker scar tissue being put down begins to shift toward stronger scar tissue. This first stage takes up to 2 months before shifting to the second stage. Within the second stage the scar tissue is being remodelled. This remodelling phase can last anywhere from 2-12 months. This scar tissue is remodelled through forces acting on the scar tissue which can consist of exercise, massage, or mobilization of the scar tissue.
From this we can better understand the question of ‘how long until I recover?’ Although we can be pain free within the first few weeks, it is important to know that healing can continue for up to 12 months. This continued healing is to better allow the tissue to return to its optimal level. Contact us now to get your recovery started.