What do we think healing feels like? Most people would answer, ‘when the pain goes away,’ or ‘when things are normal again.’ Although these are good general indicators of healing, there are other variables that improve throughout the healing process that we may not be aware of.
Throughout the healing process, some things become easier and less painful to do, while others remain difficult. The same pattern can be seen during the first weeks and months of chiropractic treatment. The body will not always react in the same way to every treatment. The symptoms experienced will depend on the nature of the injury, the age and health/fitness of the patient, and the general activity performed on a daily basis. Generally speaking, the younger, more fit and better work/rest balance an individual has, the better their body will heal. Conversely, the less fit, healthy, and work/rest balanced somebody is, the more difficulties they will experience with healing in general.
All of that being said, the healing process remains non-uniform and non-linear. There will be days where you improve a lot, and weeks or months where it will be very much up and down. It is important to identify factors that improve healing progression and those that hinder. Stress is one of the most important disrupters in the healing process. This can by physical stress on your muscles and joints through poor posture and lifting technique. It can also be mental and emotional stress from work or relationships, as well as chemical stress from poor diet, which usually manifests itself in physical disease and metabolic issues first. Being aware of the stresses in your daily life will give you an underappreciated sense of control over the triggers in your life.
Chiropractic is a method of analyzing and correcting disruptions in your spine and nervous system. If you constantly pile on the stress, you are overloading your system faster than your body can heal. Be aware of the triggers and your life will improve!
(The chart underneath depicts the general chaotic healing pattern where the slope is positive, but up and down in between)
