Mythbusters: The Quick Fix

Reviewed August 2026

A person's goal when they get injured often has several facets. The first is quite clearly "stop the pain". Then it's "make it like it was before" the episode/injury (which may or may not be actually possible). The latter goal is usually wrapped up in the individual's wants/needs to be able to do a particular thing ~ like mow the lawns, care for a toddler, sit at a computer for 8 hours without moving or run a half marathon in two weeks' time. There's anxiety regarding what's wrong with their body, fear around "will this be a problem forever" and self-respect stuff around "getting back to the job at hand" whether that's about bringing in an income or taking care of others or performing a particular task.

The next tricky layer to get through is that everyone wants their complaint sorted yesterday and the pharmaceutical world had told some furfies around that possibility. Big Pharma and their marketing teams have convinced much of the population that popping a pill will solve the problem...whatever that problem may be. Some of their drugs can help some of the symptoms some of the time and sometimes there are unexpected consequences. It's best to be very well informed before you take this route. A personal risk/benefit assessment needs to be done (as is required with any kind of intervention). It's worth remembering that while medications might mask the pain, it's a temporary solution, it doesn't solve the problem or change the elements of life that have contributed to the crisis that caused the pain in the first place. Your body will still take time to heal. You might find it useful to have a read of the summary blog I wrote with the help of a local pharmacist recently about over the counter pain management options here.

So, much has been made of how long it takes our bodies to heal from injury and the breakdown of this can be found in the table below. It's worth noting that these time frames apply to tissues that were healthy to begin with. If we are talking about an older body, one that is challenged by other underlying dysfunctions (like diabetes or autoimmune issues or genetically over stretchy ligaments (for example)) or a region of the body that has been injured before, then the healing becomes a more complicated process and takes longer. Another factor is that an injury to the frame rarely involves just one of these tissues, often several in the region need to be rehabilitated concurrently, which can also lengthen healing time.

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"Biology (mostly) cannot be rushed" Paul Ingram₍₂₎

The tissue healing parameters above pertain to acute injury to the tissues. As Paul Ingram says, biology cannot be rushed, but those of us who work to keep the human frame working well will focus on ensuring the biology has every chance to forward that healing in the most efficient and complete manner possible. With healing from acute injury to the frame, we are aiming to make sure nothing gets in the way of the natural healing processes of the body and nothing goes wrong.

Where a person has experienced an injury and developed chronic pain, then healing becomes something altogether different. Chronic pain is defined persisting longer than three months. The "three months" is important...if you revisit the table of tissue healing times above you'll appreciate that chronic pain is pain that persists beyond the time it takes for the tissues to heal. We know there are no damaged tissues any more, but the person is still experiencing pain.

With chronic pain the circumstances the person experienced when they sustained the initial injury were such that their brain has tipped into overprotective mode. The brain remembers that trauma vividly and never wants to go there again. To prevent revisiting that trauma the brain will make the person perceive or experience pain/inflammation/spasm/debility to deter them from doing things the brain sees as risky behaviour (actions that might risk the old injury reoccurring). This can be triggered by particular physical movements or actions, particular environments, specific emotional responses to life events, even specific chains of thought.

One of the signs a person is experiencing an episode of chronic pain rather than a new injury to the tissues is that they recover from the symptoms (that often mimic those they experienced in the original injury) in a time frame much shorter than that which would be required for the healing of a true injury to the tissue involved.

Healing from chronic pain, then, is another kettle of fish. The longer a person has lived with a problem the more likely we'll have to work to change adaptive/compensatory habits. It's a rude shock to people when they discover the secondary compensatory problem is what brought them to see us, but we have to chase the issue back to the primary problem and deal with that too. With chronic pain the therapist needs to address both reconditioning of the deconditioned frame (because the musculoskeletal structures of the frame have deteriorated due to lack of use while the brain is keeping them ultra-safe with the inhibiting perception of pain) and retraining the brain that yes, it can do these things without calamitous effect. The goal, of course, being a body that is strong fit and able! We are after long term resolution of dysfunction and promotion of healthy active living. This is a process that can take months and years and is very tailored to each individual who receives such care.

I'm sorry to report that the "quick fix" is up there with unicorns and Tinkerbell ~ myths all. I would love to have a magic wand and be able to disappear musculoskeletal problems and pain, but it takes more work and time for us to achieve that. If you or someone you know is experiencing a pain in the frame or a musculoskeletal dysfunction please give us a call at The Adelaide Chiropractic Centre on 8221 6262 ~ we can help you achieve your health goals.

References

1. https://symmetryptaustin.com/healing-expectations-for-different-tissue-types/ (viewed 28/3/21)

2. https://www.painscience.com/articles/healing-time.php (viewed 28/3/21)