What to Expect During Recovery, we *must* be patient
Understanding Your Animal’s Healing Process 🐾
When your animal is injured or experiencing dysfunction, their body goes through predictable phases of healing.
A common mistake is delaying rehabilitation until the animal appears to be recovering after an injury. By this stage, muscle weakness, compensatory movement patterns, and altered biomechanics may already have developed, increasing the risk of prolonged recovery and future re-injury. Early intervention is often key to achieving the best long-term outcome.
Understanding these phases helps set realistic expectations and highlights why consistent care and rehabilitation are essential.
A simple way to think about approximate healing timelines is:
“3 days – 3 weeks – 3 months” rule
The Three Phases of Tissue Healing
1. Acute Inflammatory Phase (0–5 days)
This is the body’s immediate response to injury.
During this phase:
Bleeding and clot formation occur
Inflammatory cells move into the area
Damaged tissue and debris are removed
Growth factors are released to begin healing
Your animal may appear sore, stiff, or reluctant to move during this stage.
Think “Keep things moving, but we mustn’t challenge the injury yet.”
Our focus in this phase is rest, pain reduction, prevention of stiffness and a controlled environment.
⚠️ Avoid running, jumping, rough play etc. as this will overload the injured tissue.
2. Proliferation Phase (4–21 days)
This is the rebuilding phase.
During this phase:
Fibroblasts and endothelial cells become active
New blood vessels form
Granulation tissue develops
Collagen is laid down to repair damaged tissue
You may notice gradual improvement, but the tissue is still fragile. This is where I may say that I can start to see improvements and it is time to increase training towards our rehab end goal. This does not mean to go overboard and push too hard, as this could send your animal spiralling backwards.
Think “Rebuild movement, but stay controlled and gentle”
Our focus in this phase is to restore movement, begin light exercises, balance work and encourage correct gait/movement patterns.
⚠️ Tissue is still weak we must progress gently and gradually
3. Remodelling Phase (3 weeks – several months)
This is the strengthening and recovery phase.
During this phase:
Collagen fibres realign and strengthen
Tissue gains tensile strength
Scar tissue matures
Function progressively returns
Full recovery can take months (sometimes up to 12 months) depending on the injury.
⚠️ This is where rehab becomes really important and effective.
Our focus in this phase is strength, endurance, return to normal activity or performance. We would try for longer walks, hill work or swimming.
Think “Now we strengthen and future-proof the body”
Why rehabilitation is so Important;
Rehab helps to:
Reduce or eliminate pain
Improve mobility and function
Support faster recovery
Reduce the likelihood of surgery
Prevent future injury or recurrence
How long will my animal need treatment?
Every animal is different, and recovery depends on several factors:
Severity of the injury
Age and overall health
How consistently rehab can be performed at home
Because of this, it’s not always possible to predict the exact duration of care at the beginning.
Typical starting plan (dogs):
Weekly treatments for 4 weeks, followed by reassessment and adjustment of care
Rehabilitation doesn’t need to be complicated.
✅ It should be simple, consistent, and enjoyable | ✅ It should fit into your daily routine | ✅ It can use your existing environment (e.g. walking routes, gentle hills, even a pool)
The most important factor is consistency
Your involvement makes a significant difference in outcomes.
Please:
Follow your individualised rehab plan provided by Dr Lauren.
Perform exercises as prescribed
Communicate any changes you notice.
We’re Here to Help! If you have any question please contact us.
📞 (02) 6583 1449 ✉️ creaturecomfortchiro@gmail.com