It takes 1-2 years for cartilage, but only if and when you recover abnormal joint motion. Even if you grow new cartilage, if your joint is crooked the friction will degenerate the new tissue away and it will seem as if the knees and cartilage joints aren’t healing. There are very few extremity clinics like ourselves who stop abnormal joint motion that causes friction to allow the joint to actually recover.  Less than 2% of the population get their knees adjusted regularly so good luck finding statistics outside of our testimonials.
Joint ligaments heal in 3 months if the damage is mild and it was the first assault on the tissue. If its medium damage and moderate tearing occurred it takes 6 months. It also takes 6 months for a mild repetitive sprain. 9 months when you see bruising & swelling (meaning 75% of ligament and surrounding muscle tissue is ripped and torn).Â
1 year and surgery is required for a complete tear of a ligament joint to ensure it heals in its original contact area (and this tissue will never be the same again).
Now muscles are easy and we really need to listen more to them. If you go to they gym and work your butt off you heal in 3 days after you’re sore because muscles heal fast. I see more people using massage rather than chiropractic when your ligaments need way more help. A ligamental injury is more serious and located next to your spinal cord. Proper realignment is a higher priority.
If you tear a muscle through the belly it takes 3-6 months depending on the size and how many times you tear it.Â
Most people get injured and then tough it out. It heals wrong and then they re-injure it like 3 to 4 times before they go get care and then expect the doctor to fix it. My goodness, the cluelessness that patients have about their bodies and their expectations on the providers need to stop! When you’re injured, one of two things happen. Either you feel 100% immediate trauma or 1% damage everyday over time as a repetitive motion injury which people usually don’t notice until it reaches a breaking point.
The best thing you can do is to be proactive about your health rather than reactive. We encourage patients to come in regularly because adjustments actually strengthen your resistance to injury! With regular adjustments, even if you get an injury–it will be smaller and take less time to heal. Don’t treat chiropractic like the ER, because just like the ER, it’s already too late. The damage has been done and the rest is up to your body. The typical patient who waits for more symptoms to show up is screwed and ultimately the tough guy is responsible for our expensive medial system. IF you had a leak in your house, you wouldn’t wait until its so bad–think about it. Insurance feeds off your procrastination and they know you’re use to procrastination so they procrastinate payment and ultimately the patient looses twice while the docs go insane retraining everyone to treat themselves and their bodies at least as nice as their car or house.
