“How long does physical therapy take to work?”
At Healing Hands, we hear this question daily. While it doesn’t seem that the question is difficult to answer, it actually is. Why? Because a lot of factors are at play here. Plus, every person is different. Thus, the duration of physical therapy treatment in Thomson, GA, and your overall prognosis are dependent on a lot of factors. So, moving back to the question…
Sadly, there’s no right answer. Since every individual is different, their rate of healing also differs. For example, an individual may take just four days to walk one hundred and twenty feet after knee surgery, but a patient who had surgery on the same day may need ten days to cover the same distance. This may be due to the difference in healing rate, motivation, and pain perception.
Let’s try to answer this question by looking at some factors that may affect the length of therapy. But remember, you would always be better off setting various goals you’d like to accomplish during your rehab program than setting a date to complete therapy. Make goals your focus, not time!
Factors affecting the length of physical therapy
- The magnitude of the injury:In comparison to a major injury, a minor injury will usually take a shorter time in physical therapy.
- The body part that’s affected:The rate at which different body parts heal isn’t the same. For instance, ligaments or tendons take longer to heal than muscles.
- The patient’s healing rate:The pace at which everyone heals is different. The healing of the body can’t be determined by a mathematical equation. Even if two people have similar injuries and are admitted at the same time, the amount of time they spend in physical therapy will always be different.
Average healing times for different types of tissues
As mentioned above, the body part affected partly contributes to the length of physical therapy. The healing rates of different types of tissues differ from one another. Here are the average healing times for different types of tissues:
- Muscle can take up to two to four weeks
- Tendon can take up to four to six weeks
- Bone can take up to six to eight weeks
- Ligaments can take up to ten to twelve weeks
- Cartilage can take up to twelve weeks
Healing Hands aims to bring you back to activities of daily living
If you find yourself in a situation where you require physical therapy treatment in Thomson, GA, you should work with a reputable physical therapist. Healing Hands’ physical therapist in Thomson, GA, will work with you throughout your journey to regain your movement, function, strength, and overall wellbeing. Give us a call today.
We also offer post-operative rehab in Thomson, GA!