I’m often asked how long it will take before an injury stops hurting; and the answer . . . it depends. It depends on a lot of factors.

Is this a new injury?

And if it is, how severe is it and what is the fitness level of the person who has the injury. Also, if it is new and the person is in good shape and healthy, what does that person do each day for a living. If it’s a lower body injury, but the person works in a job that requires physical labor, the time for the injury to heal is probably longer.

Is this a chronic injury that you’ve re-aggravated?

Again, it depends on your fitness level and the activities that you do on a daily basis.Whether it’s a new injury or a chronic injury or re-aggravation of a chronic injury, there is no set date on how long you will have the pain, there is no magic calendar that limits your pain to three days or a week. I can tell you that the sooner you seek treatment, it’s likely that your injury will heal quicker. You not only have to seek treatment, you also have to keep your appointments and follow the recommended at-home exercises. The treatment plan will not work if you do not follow it.If this is a re-aggravated injury, you also have to look at what you do on a regular basis that causes the re-aggravation. I frequently see people who work at a desk job all day. They come in with neck and shoulder pain. Because they don’t make adjustments with how they sit daily or how their computer and mouse are positioned, they continue to aggravate the neck or shoulder pain.As I said at the beginning of this post, the time it takes for the pain to go away depends on a number of factors. If I could predict the future, I might be able to tell you how long it will take for your pain to go away, but for now, you’ll have to trust that it just depends.