Why You Should Not Play the Waiting Game

The "Wait and See" Game is Just that, a Game

If you were to take your car to the mechanic, they may find something wrong with your car. The issue with your car may not have even been something that you were aware of currently, but the mechanic advises you to fix it to prevent a larger future issue with your car. You fix it because you don’t want to have your car break down, or a more costly issue on your hands that could’ve been prevented with a less expensive approach taken earlier. You take care of the issue, even if you did not even know the problem was there from the start. The same concept applies to injury. If you feel a small tweak now, it’s best to take action, so you are not left with a more serious issue with a more lengthy recovery.

In many ways, performance based physical therapists are similar to mechanics. We may find an issue that you did not even know you had, and encourage you to fix it before it becomes a full blown problem just like a mechanic would suggest when it comes to your car. We may also help you find the root cause of any injury or pain that you do have, just like a mechanic running a diagnostic on your car. For example, you come to physical therapy with foot pain and we trace the root cause up to your hips and lower back, or you come to physical therapy with wrist pain and we find a movement fault in your neck. In these examples, no intervention that you did specifically for the wrist or foot would have solved the issue, and waiting to see if the pain went away while resting the wrist and the foot would also not have solved the issue. This is why you should always take action, so you can take an informed approach to your recovery. 

When it comes to a full-blown injury, waiting to see if that injury will just go away is not conducive to long-term recovery either. In fact, on the off chance the injury does go away by itself, it’s highly likely that the same issue will return as a larger caliber injury, and has the possibility of causing further strain and issues elsewhere in the body (more on this later).

Understanding the I3 Model

As mentioned in a previous blog, we follow the I3 model when it comes to injury: “At Conquer Movement, we emphasize the significance of form through our I3 Model, which illustrates how injuries can develop and persist over time. When considering the importance of form from an injury standpoint, it is essential to understand that improper form leads to incomplete mechanics—this is the first "I" in our model. When mechanics are incomplete, they create imbalances in how we move. These asymmetries present as side-to-side differences in range of motion, strength, stability, and more and result in our second "I," incidents. These incidents are microtraumas that impose stress on various structures in our body. While they may seem minor and often resolve quickly, repeatedly placing our bodies in positions that they aren’t accustomed to, or poorly distributing loads through our joints and connective tissues, can eventually lead to injury—the final "I."

Think of injury as the straw that broke the camel's back, the culmination of numerous incidents that have gone unnoticed. Just as a scab that you keep picking at will eventually bleed, our bodies can only withstand so much before something gives way. Since you can never predict which incident will lead to an injury, it's a risk not worth taking. This also demonstrates the importance of understanding what exactly our incomplete mechanics are and which movements are not being executed properly. If we do not understand where our movement faults lie, then we will continue to perpetuate this injury in a never-ending cycle. We need to know how to move properly in order to both correct and prevent injuries.”

One of our favorite Physical Therapist’s to quote when it comes to these concepts is Dr. Kelly Starrett. To learn more about this methodology, check out his book, Becoming a Supple Leopard. 

Ignoring Pain Early On Creates More Work in the Long Run

Many people believe that given enough time, their body will simply heal on its own. While it’s true that the body has an incredible ability to recover, that process depends on the type of injury and the severity. Soft tissue injuries, for example, often require proper mobilization and rehabilitation to heal correctly. Without intervention, scar tissue can form in a way that becomes restrictive, leading to decreased range of motion, stiffness, and an increased likelihood of re-injury and the potential for nagging pain that doesn’t go away due to missing the window to influence scar tissue. 

Ignoring pain or discomfort and assuming that it will subside can also lead to compensatory movement patterns. If one part of your body is injured, your body will adapt by shifting the burden elsewhere. Over time, this compensation can result in secondary injuries, affecting joints, muscles, and connective tissues that were never part of the original problem. In this way, the I3 model mentioned earlier can represent a never ending injury cycle as the journey would restart back at “incomplete mechanics”. 

The Concept of Natural History of Injury and Its Implications for Healing

The concept of an injury's "natural history" refers to the typical course or progression an injury follows from the moment it occurs to its eventual resolution, without the influence of medical intervention, therapeutic rehabilitation, or any other external factors. Essentially, it is the body’s own process of healing over time. Every injury, whether it’s a sprain, strain, fracture, or any soft tissue damage, has a predictable series of stages, often categorized into inflammation, repair, and remodeling. These stages reflect the body’s inherent ability to heal itself, with rest being the primary treatment in the absence of other interferences.

For many, especially in cases of mild injuries, stopping activities and relying on the body’s natural history can be tempting. The idea is that injury may heal on its own, and the individual may return to their daily activities with no further complications. However, this process does not often work in the athlete’s favor. While the idea of simply waiting out the injury’s timeline sounds easy and passive, it can have serious drawbacks for those who engage in regular, intense physical activity. The reason lies in the unique challenges athletes face: the combination of repetitive movement, high-performance expectations, and intense training demands that often put them at risk for reinjury or chronic conditions.

Athletic performance relies on the ability to maintain physical readiness, and the competitive nature of sports often requires individuals to push through pain, continue training, or return to the playing field as soon as possible. This urgency can be detrimental to the long-term health of an athlete’s body. If an athlete decides to simply rest and do nothing, they risk losing muscle strength, joint stability, and flexibility during the healing period. The lack of targeted rehabilitation can prolong recovery or even result in suboptimal healing, where the body might not regain full function or strength before returning to activity.

Moreover, resting alone does not address the root cause of the injury. If an injury was caused by an underlying weakness, mobility restriction, or positional issue, merely resting or waiting for it to resolve naturally can fail to fix the mechanical problems that led to the injury in the first place. Without addressing these factors, athletes are at a higher risk of reinjury once they return to their sport since it was that sport that created those movement faults that resulted in pain in the first place. It is important to consider the whole athlete and address injuries in a holistic approach, read more about the whole athlete in this previous blog. 

The Risk of Repetitive Stress and Underlying Weakness

One of the key concerns with the natural history of injury is that the underlying causes of the injury may remain unaddressed during the passive healing process. While an injury may feel better with time, the original stressors that caused it, such as poor biomechanics, muscle imbalances, or mobility deficits, might still be present in the body.

For example, an athlete who suffers from a recurrent hamstring strain may feel relief after several weeks of rest, but if the injury was caused by a weakness in the hip stabilizers or poor positioning of the knee during running, the body could not have corrected these during the rest period. This means that once the athlete returns to their training, the same patterns of stress will once again overload the hamstring, potentially leading to reinjury or chronic pain. The key point is that the body may heal superficially, but the fundamental movement dysfunctions that caused the injury in the first place remain unresolved and the injury reoccurs with the reintroduction of those faulty movements. 

This concept is especially relevant for athletes who experience "overuse" injuries, where repeated motions and stresses lead to wear and tear on muscles, tendons, and joints. Conditions like tendinitis, stress fractures, and neural (nerve) aggravation are often the result of ongoing mechanical stress without adequate rest or adjustment. The natural history of these injuries may suggest that with enough time, the body will heal, but without addressing the movement deficiencies contributing to these stresses, the athlete is simply setting themselves up for another round of pain and injury.

Why Early Intervention Matters

Addressing an injury early can significantly reduce recovery time. The sooner an issue is identified and treated, the better the outcome. Performance-based physical therapy focuses on identifying movement dysfunctions and correcting them before they lead to more severe injuries. This proactive approach ensures that you continue to move efficiently and pain-free.

At Conquer Movement, our treatment strategies include:

• Biomechanical assessments to pinpoint faulty movement patterns and assessing your body joint by joint to find the culprit.
• Manual therapy techniques to improve mobility and reduce restrictions. We also emphasize pain modulation techniques to improve your comfort during follow up exercises.
• Customized online exercise programs to strengthen weak muscles and correct imbalances.
• Education and coaching to prevent future injuries through proper movement strategies, especially as we re-introduce sport specific movements.

The Cost of Waiting

Delaying treatment often means increased medical costs in the long run. What could have been a few sessions of targeted physical therapy might turn into months of rehabilitation if an injury worsens. Worse, in rare cases with red flag risk factors, some injuries may require surgical intervention if left untreated for too long. Not only does this result in greater financial costs, but also extended time away from training, sports, or daily activities.

From a performance standpoint, every day spent waiting is a day spent losing strength, mobility, and function. Athletes and active individuals cannot afford to let small issues snowball into major setbacks. A proactive approach allows you to maintain peak performance and continue progressing toward your goals without unnecessary interruptions.

The Psychological Toll

Beyond the physical consequences, playing the waiting game can have a psychological impact. Living with pain or dysfunction can be frustrating and demotivating. It can lead to fear-avoidance behaviors, where individuals become hesitant to engage in physical activity due to the fear of making the injury worse. This inactivity can contribute to further physical decline, making it even harder to return to previous levels of function. As a certified Mindfulness Based Pain Relief Practitioner, I have seen the detrimental effects of pain on the mental health of many of my patients. The mental effect itself can creep into other aspects of life and especially take a toll on our most important relationships. Consider the many ways in which pain can negatively influence your life by limiting you not only through physical discomfort, but affecting the way you feel mentally, the way you act towards those that you love and those in your social support system. The cost of waiting is not just physiological, it's also psychological.

A proactive approach, on the other hand, fosters confidence. Knowing that you’re taking control of your health and addressing issues head-on can provide peace of mind and motivation to stay consistent with your recovery and training.

To dive deeper into the mental aspect of pain and healing, check out this blog. 

Performance-Based Physical Therapy as a Solution

Unlike traditional physical therapy, which often focuses on basic rehabilitation, performance-based physical therapy takes a more comprehensive approach. It bridges the gap between injury recovery and peak performance, ensuring that individuals not only heal but return to activity stronger than before.

At Conquer Movement, our philosophy is built around:

• Identifying root causes as a preventative for future injury, not just masking symptoms, but instead, calming symptoms down in order to better address their underlying root cause.
• Correcting the root cause via individualized programming, ensuring treatment is tailored to each person’s needs, adjusting the most minute details of an exercise to avoid a cookie cutter program.
• Conquering your movement via exercise integration, programming exercises of increasing difficulty, adding new planes of motion, speed and impact to help individuals return to sport or activity at a higher level of function.

Conclusion: Don’t Wait, Take Action

If you’re experiencing discomfort, pain, or a minor tweak that doesn’t seem like a big deal, don’t wait to see if it gets worse. Addressing it now can save you from prolonged recovery, increased medical costs, and potential long-term consequences. Performance-based physical therapy is the key to staying strong, moving efficiently, and preventing injuries before they escalate.

At Conquer Movement, we’re here to help you take charge of your health, optimize your movement, and ensure that you stay ahead of injuries. Don’t play the waiting game, take action today for a stronger, healthier future!

Ready to make the first move to tackle your pain before your pain tackles you? Schedule a free discovery call with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy today and we will help you take the steps to address your pain and prevent future injuries. 

Best, 

Dr. Kylie Miller PT, DPT

kylie@conquermovementpt.com