5 factors that can delay recovery time

Injuries are often unexpected and can put a halt to your regular activities. During the first consultation with a professional, many people will ask: “how long will it take for me to get better?”, with the hopes that they can get a definitive date to return to their daily activities and hobbies.

 Our team of professionals can offer a rough estimate of when they expect you to fully recover from your injury based on their knowledge of tissue healing and their clinical experience. However, no two people are the same and everyone’s healing time varies based on a few different factors. Learn more about these factors below:

• Medical conditions*

Having a pre-existing condition that affects the bones, joints or muscles like osteoarthritis or obesity means that the body is already more prone to pain, stiffness and mechanical stress in its current state. Adding an injury to this gives the body an extra task which in turn prolongs how quickly it can heal itself.

• Pre-existing injuries*

Very often we will see patients who got injured while still recovering from a prior injury. This often occurs when a patient got injured a first time and is experiencing symptoms that lead to a second injury. For example, a patient got injured in the low back and had decreased sensation in his leg and foot – due to this symptom, he tripped on the carpet in his living room and hurt his opposite ankle.

* While these factors can’t necessarily be reverted, consulting our team of professionals (dietitian, kinesiologists, physiotherapists, massage therapists, occupational therapist) can help with the management of the symptoms and increase the quality of life. 

• Activities of daily living

Depending on the area of injury, different activities may need to be put on hold temporarily to help with the proper healing of the body. For example, it is not suggested for someone with an overuse injury to the shoulder to take on big cleaning tasks such as washing the windows, vacuuming the entire house or folding 3 loads of laundry. It is still possible to exercise with an injury – our physiotherapists/kinesiologists can create a program to ensure the exercises are promoting the healing instead of delaying it.

• Personal habits

Different lifestyle choices such as regular alcohol consumption, smoking and poor nutrition have an impact on the body’s physiological response such as increasing the inflammation and decreasing the therapeutic nutrients and oxygen transmission going to the injured area. Need guidance on which foods can help you during your recovery? Our dietitian, Gabby, can work with you to create a nutrition plan.

• Delay in care

Finally, an important factor in the proper recovery of injuries is to seek care as soon as possible. Professionals are trained to provide treatment tailored to each patient and their injury. We will work with you to create a plan of care that promotes healing and provides pain relief – don’t wait for it to go away on its own, it might just prolong your recovery time. Same day appointments are available, give us a call!

 -Karine

Physiotherapist