Proud To Be Fit

Recovering from an injury is difficult, both mentally and physically. All your goals and workout plans will most likely change. The need to be flexible is important as well as understanding the phases of tissue recovery so you can come back from your injury mentally and physically stronger.

The timing and duration of each phase differs and is effected by severity of injury, age, lifestyle and current health. Yet, all tissues follow the same basic pattern of healing.

1. Inflammation Phase: Inflammation is the body’s initial reaction to injury and is necessary for normal healing to occur. Depending on the injury, inflammation can last anywhere from 2hrs to 2 months.The injured area becomes red and swollen due to changes in vascularity, blood flow, and capillary permeability which decreases function of area. If it doesn’t end in a reasonable mount of time then it will delay the rehabilitation process.

2. Repair Phase: Once phase one has ended, tissue repair begins allowing the damaged tissues to regenerate and form scar tissue. Collagen fiber production is randomly laid to serve as a framework where repair can take place. THis phase can begin as early as two day s and can last up to 2 months.

3. Remodeling Phase: The weakened tissue produced during the repair phase is strengthened during the remodeling phase of healing. Production of collagen has decreased, allowing for the new formed tissue to improve its structure, strength, and structure. Increased loading on formed scar tissue begins to hypertrophy and align the new collagen fibers along the lines of stress. This can last 2-4 months after injury.