So, you’ve done it. You’ve taken the first step to getting rid of your back pain from sciatica by making an appointment for physical therapy and starting a course of treatment. You’re now well on your way to getting back to a pain free life! But you’re still left with a very natural question: how long will it take before the pain goes away?
In general, it can take 4 to 8 weeks to go through the first 2 phases of healing (no pain, all movement and strength back to normal), with improvements in pain level happening as early as only 2 or 3 visit. As for the third phase of healing, getting back to all the activities that you want to do, there are a number of variables that can determine how fast you can get back to regular activity:
- Overall health. It goes without saying, but in general, not just with sciatica but the any issue seen in our physical therapy clinic, health people heal faster. In addition, age is also a factor, so younger people will also heal faster
- Diet. People who consume more nutrients in their calories heal faster than whose who primarily eat processed foods. If you read our monthly newsletters, that’s why we LOVE to include monthly recipes that you can cook yourself.
- Rest. Our bodies need sleep and rest to rebuild. A lack of sleep slows healing time.
- Sedentary lifestyle. People who sit all day for work or to watch TV for long periods of time will heal more slowly.
And a few more points that REALLY affect recovery times:
- People who are highly aware of their daily postures and habits heal quicker because they can adjust habits easily.
- People who think there’s hope tend to be more persistent and won’t let anything stop them.
- People who follow advice and instruction from top level healthcare professionals heal more quickly than those who do not follow through with care.
Our high level physical therapy care comes with extensive patient education and home exercise programs. REAL pain relief comes from a combination of what we do in the physical therapy clinic and how patients follow instructions outside the clinic. In our experience, the patients that are ready and willing to work as a TEAM with their physical therapist ALWAYS experience the BEST results from their physical therapy. And it shows in all the awesome results that we’ve gotten over the years.
Dr. Asha Koshy is a Physical Therapist and co-owner of Complete Physical Rehabilitation in Jersey City and Elizabeth, NJ.
She is a McKenzie certified back pain Physical Therapist specialist, an LSVT BIG certified specialist for Parkinson’s Disease, and also specializes in treating Vestibular conditions relating to vertigo, dizziness, and other balance disorders.