Tissue Healing 101:

How Long Do Muscles, Tendons, Ligaments & Bones Really Take to Mend?

One of the most common questions I hear in the clinic is “How long until I’m back to normal?”
The honest answer is: it depends—on what you injured, how you injured it and who you are.
But there are well-studied biological windows that guide our expectations and, importantly, shape your rehab program.

The Three Overlapping Phases of Healing

1. Inflammation (0 – 5 days)
   • Vascular “clean-up crew” rushes in, clears debris, generates protective pain and swelling.

2. Proliferation / Repair (3 days – 6 weeks)
   • Fibroblasts lay down new collagen, tiny blood vessels grow, tissue scaffolding forms.

3. Remodelling / Maturation (4 weeks – 12 months)
   • Collagen realigns under load, tensile strength rises, scar tissue slowly contracts.

Every tissue follows this template, but the tempo differs dramatically.

Cheat-Sheet: Typical Healing Timeframes

*“Good-as-New” = ability to tolerate full sport/work loads, not just pain-free ADLs.
** Degenerative tendons or full ruptures trend longer (16 – 52 weeks, sometimes surgical).

Five Factors That Speed ⏩ or Slow ⏪ the Clock

1. Blood supply – more vessels = more oxygen, nutrients and growth factors.

2. Mechanical loading – progressive stress signals cells to align and strengthen tissue; too little or too much both delay repair.

3. Age & hormones – oestrogen, testosterone and growth factors decline with age, slowing collagen turnover.

4. Metabolic health – diabetes, smoking and poor sleep cut capillary growth and collagen quality.

5. Surgical intervention – stabilises major tears/fractures but restarts the inflammatory clock.

Practical Takeaways for Your Rehab Plan

1. Match the phase, not just the calendar.
   Early-stage muscle strains might love gentle isometrics by day 3, while a grade II ankle sprain still needs external support for two weeks.

2. Monitor the 24-hour response.
   A slight next-day ache < 3/10 is normal. Escalating pain or swelling? Back off 20–30 % on the next session.

3. Strength beats scar tissue.
   Real collagen organisation happens when you load heavy enough—think slow eccentrics for tendons, progressive plyometrics for ligaments, and heavy-slow resistance for late-stage muscle repair.

4. Nutrition, sleep, mindset.
   Protein (1.6–2 g/kg), Vitamin C + collagen pre-loading, 7–9 h sleep and a growth mindset literally change the cellular signals that rebuild you.

Worried Your Recovery Is Dragging?

A personalised assessment can pinpoint why you’re stuck—whether that’s under-loading, over-loading or an undiagnosed factor like iron deficiency or relative energy deficiency. As both a physiotherapist and movement coach, I’ll map out a staged program that respects biology and pushes capacity so you return not just healed, but harder to break.

Book your first consult here

Let’s turn time into progress—smart, intentional, measurable.