Does Your Pain Come and Go, or is it Always There?
This will be one of the first questions a health care provider will ask you. The answer tells us a lot of information. If you pain comes and goes, you are doing something, even a tiny little thing, that is causing your back pain to come on. Coming and going means that it gets to 0/10 some times. Maybe you have the pain once per year or once per month, either way you will get better if you do the right things.
If you pain/symptoms are always there, even fluctuating, that is a different story. You may have good days and bad days. But when pain doesn't go away, that is a sign that there is something more that is going on. We will explore this further down.
How Long Does it Take to Heal?
Different tissues heal at different rates. Muscles, tendons, bones all heal differently. The human body is amazing. It can do most of the healing by itself. There are things we can do to speed it up a little and to make it more robust and less likely to have further injury, or re-injury. Below are some variations of times for different tissue healing.
Exercise Soreness 0-3 days
Muscle Strain Grade 1 0-8 weeks
Grade 2 4 days - 4 months
Grade 3 3 weeks - 1 year
Ligament Sprain Grade 1 3 days - 8 weeks
Grade 2 2 weeks - 6 months
Grade 3 5 weeks - 1 year
Tendon Issues 2 weeks - 1+ years
Bone 5 weeks - 1 year
It is important to note that some of these high end points are to where there is no more damage evident, not to when you are functioning fully (sources here and here). What we can learn from these time frames is that everyone feels different, but TISSUES HEAL. I cannot stress that enough. TISSUES HEAL.
Then Why Won't My Pain Go Away?
This is where I can take you for a long walk through the woods. What is important to know is that the body adapts. It adapts so well in fact, that it doesn't want to hurt itself again. The miles of nerves adapt to new stimuli, the brain adapts to avoid certain things it thinks are harmful, joints will stiffen or loosen to accommodate other areas that move too well or not well enough.
What we have learned is that the nervous system remodels in just a few days to feel pain when it gets stressed or stretched so it will no longer tolerate bending forward or backward, or whatever movement was hurting when you were injured. The brain thinks these movements are harmful so it tells your body not to do it. This all does not mean that what you are feeling is all in your head. YOUR SYMPTOMS AND PAIN ARE REAL!
Symptoms and pain are real to everyone. Most people really feel pain long after the injury is "healed." Just because something is healed, does not mean your body is ready for you to do things again. We can guide you through the process of getting through this persistent pain. We want you to avoid opioids and unnecessary surgeries. It is our mission to help guide you back to fully participating with your family, friends, and the things you enjoy doing.
As we finish this up, we want you to know that we are here for you. If you have any questions reach out to us. We will get on the phone with you and answer them. If you want to try a few things at home, try our BodyFix Your Back free guide. We want to help you succeed.
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