Recovering from an injury or surgery can be a frustratingly slow process, but according to physical therapy experts, patience is important.
"Culturally as a nation, we are people who want stuff done now," said Lori Thein Brody, who practices physical therapy at the University of Wisconsin Health Spine Physical Therapy Clinic. "I think people have an expectation of, 'Well, I've injured myself, and now I'm back' — or it's possible that they see professional athletes or collegiate athletes out there and they get injured one week and lo and behold, they're back the next week."
Thein Brody acknowledged that recovery usually takes longer than anyone wants, but emphasized that bodies need time to heal.
"There really aren't very many fast tracks to getting better. It's a matter of time, diligence, patience, and sticking with it," she said.
It’s also important to pay attention to what the body is "saying" during recovery, according to Jill Thein-Nissenbaum, an associate professor in the UW-Madison Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
"When you have swelling or when you have increased pain after you've had surgery and you've done some sort of activity, that's your body's way of telling you that it's too much," she said. "Those kind of symptoms really preclude you from getting through the healing process fast enough."
While there aren’t shortcuts to speeding up recovery, there are factors that can deter or slow the healing process. One of them, Thein-Nissenbaum said, is smoking. Another is returning to activity too soon, said Thein Brody.