A prognosis is “An opinion, based on medical experience, of the likely course of a medical condition”. Giving a clear prognosis and answering the “How Long” question can be tough for us to determine accurately but we will always try to give you a good indication. Here is a list of the main issues that we need to consider when providing an educated guess at how long it may take for you to recover.
Symptomatic Tissue – The Diagnosis
If we can narrow the diagnosis down to a specific tissue that is a great start to putting your prognosis puzzle together. The chart below gives a general indication of how long different tissues can take to recover.
Symptomatic Tissue – Is it Mechanical or Inflammatory Pain
Mechanical pain will typically settle quickly when the mechanical stimulus/aggravating factor is removed. Inflammatory pain, on the other hand, does not tend to settle quickly and can linger for days or longer. Often pain can be caused by mechanical factors but when there is inflammatory pain the body’s inflammatory response has been elicited to initiate clean-up and healing. If that is the case, then we have to respect the inflammation and ensure this is well managed and under control before diving into your rehab. This is when specific treatment, targeting inflammation, can be very helpful.
Underlying Cause
Are there any underlying causes that have contributed to the injury developing? If so, we also need to take into account how long it might take to address the underlying causes. It could be anything from a particular movement pattern, a lack of movement, an area that is weak and needs strengthening, or a joint that you aren’t controlling well. As a guide, if we are able to address the way you move and provide strength conditioning, then you should see improvements in 2 weeks and typically a minimum of 2-3 months for good long-term change.
Chronicity
How long have you had the symptoms and issues? A rule of thumb that often applies is “time in equals time out”. How long have you been out of action? How long since you have done the activity that you are looking forward to getting back to? How long has that underlying cause or behaviour been present?
Required loading – What do you want to get back to?
Where you wish to be physically makes a huge impact on our timeframes. Is it pre season, is it during the season? Do we have a big competition to get back to? Or are there no big time pressures and we can take our time and slowly build you back up. It is also important to consider your day to day demands. What do you have to do for work? Who do you have to care for? Can you take time off?
Beyond this there are several other factors that can impact healing including past injury history, co-morbidities, medications, age and lifestyle choices (eg.smoking). Once we have identified such factors we can start to put together a ballpark prognosis for you on how long it will take to complete the recovery process. Then we can start working towards improving your range of movement, getting you stronger and building up your activity until you are back doing what you love.