What happens when an injury occurs? A simple guide to the STAGES OF HEALING.

When an injury occurs, the tissues go through 3 main stages of healing - Inflammation, Proliferation and Remodelling...

Our bodies are very clever, and always try to heal themselves after injury, although this doesn't always work as effectively as you would like!

The time scales overlap (as you can see below) and vary massively, depending on...

• Type of injury
• Severity of injury
• Location of injury
• Level of fitness pre-injury
• Treatment and rehabilitation

So say you've sprained your ankle...

Inflammation occurs initially. This is your body "kick-starting" the healing process.
All kinds of chemicals and cells are acting fast to clean up the area and protect from further injury.
Your signs and symptoms may include; Heat, Redness, Swelling, Pain and Loss of function.

Then comes the Proliferation stage. This is where the wound attempts to "rebuild" by laying down new tissue and developing new blood vessels.
Signs and symptoms; Reduced pain, Swelling starting to reduce, Bruising may appear, Heat and Redness reduced.

Finally is the Remodelling stage. The wound is getting stronger, but the new fibres aren't aligned well, so scar tissue is produced.
Signs and symptoms; Some pain, Movement gradually improving, Minimal to no swelling, heat and redness.

Although your body is attempting to make the injured area stronger by laying down scar tissue... this can result in an increased risk of injury and a reduction in range of movement. The scar tissue also develops additional nerve endings, meaning more pain can be felt in the area.

A Sports Therapist will aim to;

• reduce the scar tissue from as early as possible,
• increase your movement and mobility,
• develop your strength,
• reduce your risk of re-injury and
• get you back to your sport/exercise/daily life pain-free, as soon as possible.

How??

• Prescribing exercises that are suitable to the stage of healing and to you!
• Manual therapy to increase mobility and movement in a safe way.
• Soft tissue work to reduce scar tissue and relax any muscle spasm.
• Reduce the risk of compensatory injuries - i.e. back pain/knee pain from limping!
• Give you a realistic and achievable time frame for rehabilitation.
• Continually assess, adapt and monitor your rehabilitation.

---

For FREE advice or to book:

Call/text Jeni: 07984008186
Email: MaximiseST@gmail.com
Send a message via Facebook

Pricelist

Where are we?