09/11/2024
When we have an unexpected injury, it's natural to want to return to our full physical capacity as soon as possible. There are many variables (age, the type of tissue injured, blood supply to that area/tissue, and the extent of damage, psychological barriers to recovery - environment/stress/nervous system dysregulation).
With all these variables, it's important to understand what we can do to optimize our recovery to promote healing and to help us reduce our stress around this already stressful scenario.
Depending on the type of tissue injured and the extent of the injury (muscle, tendon, ligament, nerve, bone, or a combination of them) we see varying timelines of recovery.
For example, a grade 1 muscle tear can take a week to recover while a grade 3 is upwards of a year. Tendons can take 3 months to 2+ years, and ligaments a week to 1+ years.
All of our tissues experience 3 phases of healing: the inflammatory phase, proliferation phase, and remodeling phase. These phases tend to overlap each other throughout the healing process.
The inflammatory phase (up to 7 days post injury) is probably the phase we are all most familiar with. We get injured, and there is swelling, redness, and inflammation around the site of injury. We need this for tissues to receive adequate blood flow and nutrition to allow for a successful healing journey.
The proliferative phase (4-24+ days): Cells will surround damaged tissue and start to put down a base layer of new (immature) cells in a haphazard-like formation (Collagen). In this phase, the tissue is new and weak - not yet normal or healthy, but we are putting down a foundation of new tissue.
The remodeling (maturation): Day 21 - 2+ years ; This last phase of tissue healing is where the immature type III collagen begins to convert into a mature type of collagen (type 1). This phase can last the longest as the tissue converts and as you allow adequate training for this tissue to learn to adapt to the demands of your day.
When you receive care for your injury, the stage of healing and your assessment will determine the next best steps for your treatment plan and modalities.
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