Why Chronic Pain Doesn’t Follow “Normal” Healing Times

The Myth of the Healing Clock

We have all heard it:
“A sprain takes six weeks.”
“A broken bone takes eight.”
“Soft tissue heals in three months.”

And for many injuries, that’s true. Tissue healing follows a fairly predictable process: inflammation, repair, remodeling.

But if pain was only about tissue healing, no one would have pain that lasted months or years after the injury has healed.

Yet that is exactly what I see every week in my clinic.

When the Pain Outlasts the Injury

Chronic pain is pain that sticks around beyond the expected tissue healing time - usually more than 12 weeks.

By then, muscles, ligaments, discs, and joints have often repaired.
But the nervous system has learned to stay on high alert.

It is like your house alarm going off every time the wind blows.
The threat has passed, but the system keeps ringing.

This does not mean the pain is “all in your head.”
It means the brain and body are still protecting you - even when they no longer need to.

Why This Happens

There are several reasons pain can persist:

• Nervous System Sensitisation
  Nerves and spinal cord become more efficient at sending pain signals, even with less input.

• Brain Pathways Strengthening
  The brain remembers pain and keeps firing the same pattern, like a groove worn into a record.

• Stress and Emotional Load
  Poor sleep, life stress, or unresolved trauma make the system more reactive.

• Movement Avoidance
  Fear of reinjury leads to stiffness, weakness, and further pain - a vicious cycle.

The Problem with Chasing Timelines

When we rely only on “healing times,” we risk telling people they are broken if they still hurt after a certain date.

This can feed fear and make recovery slower.
It can even create dependence on passive treatments or unnecessary surgeries.

Pain is not just a timeline. It is a conversation between your brain, body, and environment.

What Helps Instead

Recovery from chronic pain is less about waiting for tissue to heal, and more about teaching the nervous system to feel safe again.

That means:

• Gradual, confident movement

• Breathing and nervous system down-regulation

• Reframing pain as protection, not damage

• Building strength and resilience step by step

At Obsidian Physiotherapy, I guide people through this process using movement therapy, breathwork, and nervous system education.

If You Feel Stuck

If your pain has lasted longer than expected and you have been told to “wait it out” or “just rest,” it might be time to change the approach.

You are not broken.
Your body can relearn safety, strength, and movement again.

Move always & all ways.
Kai

xx