Healing the correct way

Chiropractic care is like building a house – certain things have to happen in a particular order in order for everything to stand strong and work correctly. When building a house, if you tried to put up your walls before you had a solid foundation, your walls would be weak and eventually collapse. If you tried to put on your roof before the walls were ready, you would run into the same problem. The same is true for your body. Your body has to go through a particular plan of care in order to repair itself correctly and fully. There are three general phases of healing . . .

1) Inflammatory Phase (1-7days)

Injuries result in tissue damage and this is cleaned up by your body through inflammatory chemicals resulting in inflammation.  Inflammation is a natural part of healing, but too much can slow down the healing process.  This is where we take advantage of treatments such as ice, electrical muscle stimulation, supplementation, massage, adjustments, and light exercise to reduce excess inflammation.  As we reduce the inflammation, pain will subside as well. 

2) Repair Phase (1-4wks)

Once the damaged tissue is cleaned up, it then must be repaired.  New muscle, tendon, ligament, and bone is layed down to strenghten the damaged area.  This area of treament is typically ignored but is integral in preventing future injuries which is why "overnight" fixes do not truely fix the problem.  At this phase exercise and adjustments become crutial because they will stimulate the tissues to heal faster and reinforce the correct motion.  Vitamins come in to play here in order to make sure the body has the products it needs to make the repairs. 

3) Remodeling Phase (4wks-8mos)

Once repairing the tissue is finished, the injured site will try to remodel itself so future injury will not occur.  This again is completed by laying down tendon, ligament, bone, and muscle in certain patterns for increased strength.

This is the normal process the body uses to heal an injury.  It's common for people and other medical professionals to focus on only the inflammation phase and not the whole picture.  For this reason people commonly have reoccurring back, neck, and other joint pain because the injury has never been totally healed.  The timeline of repair is the key here, and that is why when you start treatment it is not uncommon to recieve therapy 2-3 times per week for 3-4 weeks.  For example, if an athlete sprains his/her ankle they are not just sent home with advil or tylenol.  He/she will perform therapy for a few weeks to ensure proper healing.