How long does it take to recover from an injury?
“My child just had “x” injury. When will they be able to cheer again?”
I see this question asked a lot on cheerleading forums. Although I get that people are looking for hope that recovery time will be quick, the actual answer is not as simple as we would like it to be.
Every injury is different. Every person is different. How we recover is different too. There are some basic guidelines that are across the board though.
The first phase of any injury is tissue healing. This will be different between bone fractures, ligament sprains, other soft tissue injuries, and brain injuries such as a concussion. Simple fractures-or broken bones-will take 4–8 weeks for the bone to heal. Ligaments and soft tissue injuries may take longer. Concussions may start to resolve within 1–2 days, but then the guidelines are to gradually increase activity as long as they are symptom free. Full recovery may take months or even years depending on their prior history of concussion.
The next phase of recovery is regaining range of motion (ROM) and then regaining physical strength and motor control. Sometimes ROM can begin early after an injury. Doing active or passive ROM will help improve blood flow, reduce inflammation and encourage a full return of normal movement. The key here is to keep the motion comfortable so that a rebounding effect does not occur and the joint stiffens up more.
After about 6 weeks of healing, we can start to load the tissue and regain strength. This may mean more weight bearing activities as well. Pain and quality of movement dictate how fast this goes. If the injury was a mild sprain, the timing may be sooner if mobility and swelling are reduced.
Once someone can move through their normal motion, without increasing pain or swelling, and with good quality control of movement they can progress to sport specific drills. For cheerleading this may mean beginning jump drills; progression into tumbling from a regressed starting point; and a return to stunting. This may have some ups and downs throughout the process as with a return there may be an increase in swelling. Taking a small step back in this returning process may help to return faster and also will help to reduce the risk of a future injury.
Recovery from an injury is never linear. It will vary depending on the age, health and prior level of function for each individual. Some people tolerate twinges of pain and it’s ok. Other’s need to avoid pain altogether.
In every return to sport, it’s important to let each stage unfold as the individual needs. Getting physical therapy can help speed the process by assuring the athlete is doing exercises correctly and providing hands on treatment to encourage blood flow and normal movement.
When recovery happens in the right manner, without rushing through an injury, an athlete can easily return fully to a sport. When recovery is rushed, and there are limitations prior to returning, quite often the athlete is out again and this time for longer.
For more information regarding what average recovery times are per specific injury, leave a comment or email me at Laura@MoveBetterLLC.com
Cheers to staying healthy and injury free!