Your experience with pain is not like anyone else, so your relief time is individual as well. With this in mind, published clinical outcomes can give you some understanding of what to expect with Toronto chiropractic care.
General Healing Time
- Bones heal rather quickly if they have a good blood supply: 5-6 weeks.
- Ligament and tendons take a little longer: 6-8 weeks.
- Discs and cartilage take the longest: 3 months or more.
If you have a mixture of these factors, it may take some time. If you smoke, drink alcohol or have a surgical procedure, your healing time may be a bit more time intensive as well.
Disc Healing Time
It takes 3 months to heal a disc before you assume to go about your activities of daily living like prolonged sitting, bending, lifting and twisting. (1) Like a broken arm that stops hurting after a few days in a cast, you still have to wear the cast for many weeks to allow healing. Your back will also quit hurting early on in the treatment care plan, but you will have to give space for your disc to heal for at least 3 months before challenging it with more demanding activities. "Allowing the disc to heal" chiropractic activities may include simply remembering that you are mending even though you don't hurt, doing your exercises, avoiding bending/lifting/twisting, not sitting for long periods of time, etc.
Your Expected Healing Time
Cox Technic chiropractic protocols follow a "Rule of 50%" and emphasize "Control, Not Cure" for spine pain relief:
- At each point that you demonstrate 50% relief of pain (objectively and subjectively -- mind you it may come within the first visit or two), your chiropractic treatment sessions are cut in half. (ex: If you are seen daily, you would be seen once every two days.) Link to Frequency of Visits
- If you don't have 50% relief of pain within 30 days of care, you will be referred for further testing or consultation. 91% of patients reported relief within 90 days. Link to Expectations
- Cox Technic Flexion Distraction and Decompression protocols also embrace the phrase "Control, Not Cure" when managing spine pain conditions. So often the root source of pain doesn't just go away. For instance, a transitional segment is with you for life. Cox Technic chiropractic procedures work hard to help your understanding of your pain symptom and its triggers in order to prevent pain episodes.
Clinical Data Outcomes
Cox Technic protocols are published standards as they gave direction for the collection of data from 30 chiropractic clinics regarding 1,000 low back pain patient cases, the first and largest collection of its kind in chiropractic. Two-hundred ninety-three (293) different variables were gathered from and/or about each patient regarding the patient and his/her condition, history, care, outcomes. (2) This case study brought to light the number of days to maximum improvement (100% relief of pain, 3 months of care, or return to pre-injury state) and the number of visits to maximum improvement.
- The mean number of days is 29.
- The number of visits is 12.
However, some conditions do require more days and chiropractic visits. When conditions are taken into account, the results vary. Examples:
L5 disc herniation
- 86% were maximally improved in less than 3 months
- 64% required fewer than 20 visits
- 70% required fewer than 30 visits
Lumbar Sprain/Strain
- 91% were maximally improved in less than 3 months
- 71% required fewer than 20 visits
- 91% required fewer than 30 visits
"This information and website content is not intended to diagnose, guarantee results, or recommend specific treatment or activity. It is designed to educate and inform only. Please consult your physician for a thorough examination leading to a diagnosis and well-planned treatment strategy. See more details on the
DISCLAIMER page. Content is reviewed by
Dr. James M. Cox I."