How Many PT Sessions Does It Usually Take to Get Out of Pain?

One of the most common questions we hear from new patients is:
“How long will it take before I’m out of pain?”

It’s a fair question. When you’re dealing with an injury or chronic discomfort, you want to know when you’ll start feeling like yourself again.

The honest answer?
It depends, but not in a vague or uncertain way. It depends on what’s causing your pain, how your body responds to load, and how consistent you are with the process.

Let’s break down what that really means and what to expect at Bax Performance and Rehab.

Pain Relief vs. Full Recovery

Most people come to physical therapy wanting to “get out of pain.” But our job isn’t just to make pain disappear. It’s to fix the reason the pain exists in the first place.

Think of it this way:
Pain relief is like turning off the fire alarm. Recovery is putting out the fire.

At BPR, we see the difference every day:

• Pain reduction: usually happens within the first 3–6 sessions for most patients.

• Full recovery: where strength, mobility, and performance return — takes anywhere from 8–12 sessions depending on the injury.

But here’s the catch: progress isn’t always linear. You might feel great one week and then hit a movement that lights things up again. That doesn’t mean you’re getting worse; it means your body is still adapting.

What Really Determines How Long It Takes

There’s no one-size-fits-all timeline, but these are the biggest factors that influence recovery speed:

1. How Long You’ve Had the Issue

Chronic pain or repeated injury patterns often take longer to unwind because your body has built compensations over time.

The longer you’ve been moving around pain, the longer it usually takes to retrain your system.

2. Your Training Load

If you’re a barbell athlete, runner, or weekend warrior, you’re putting mechanical stress on tissues that are still healing. The right balance of training and recovery makes a huge difference.

We modify load—not remove it—so you can keep moving safely while your body adjusts.

3. Consistency Between Sessions

Doing the right things outside the clinic accelerates progress. Patients who do their home programming consistently often cut their recovery timeline in half.

4. Movement Quality

Rehab isn’t just about sets and reps. It’s about how you move. Learning better mechanics for squats, presses, and daily patterns makes progress stick.

Pain returns when the pattern doesn’t change.

What Happens If You Feel Pain During PT

This is where a lot of people—and even some clinicians—get it wrong.

In your recovery journey, there will be moments when a movement causes discomfort. The key is not to avoid it completely but to modify it intelligently.

🎥 From the Video:

In one of our sessions, a patient recovery from ACL surgery started having knee pain during lateral sliders. Instead of ditching the exercise entirely, we made small changes:

• Added assistance using poles for balance and support.

• Adjusted her range of motion to reduce pressure on the knee.

• Substituted in split squats to keep training the same movement pattern safely.

Within one or two sessions, she was back doing sliders — pain-free.

That’s how real rehab works: not avoiding pain, but understanding it, adjusting, and progressing through it.

A Realistic Timeline at BPR

Here’s a general outline of what recovery often looks like:

These phases overlap, and your body might move through them faster or slower depending on the injury and your effort outside of the clinic.

What You Can Expect After Each Session

• Session 1: You’ll understand why you’re in pain and have a clear plan.

• Session 2–4: You’ll start noticing improvements in movement quality and daily function.

• Session 5–8: Pain decreases significantly, strength starts to build back.

• Session 9+: You’re training through full range and preparing for performance again.

The “Get Out of Pain” Mindset Shift

The goal isn’t to chase a pain-free session. It’s to build a pain-tolerant, strong, and adaptable body.

When you learn to load and move the right way, your body becomes resilient enough that pain isn’t the limiting factor anymore.

That’s why our patients don’t just leave pain-free. They leave with confidence in how their body moves.

When to Expect Major Improvements

While every patient’s path is different, here’s what we typically see:

• Acute injuries (1–4 weeks old): noticeable relief within 3–5 sessions.

• Subacute (1–3 months): 6–10 sessions for significant improvement.

• Chronic pain (>3 months): 10–16 sessions for lasting change.

Even if you’ve been dealing with pain for years, you can still make progress; it just takes time and consistency.

The BPR Difference

We’re not your standard physical therapy clinic.
No crowded rooms, no “three patients at once,” no cookie-cutter exercises.

Every session at Bax Performance and Rehab is:

• 1-on-1 for 60 minutes

• Tailored to your goals and training level

• Focused on performance, not just pain relief

Whether you’re recovering from surgery, training around an injury, or trying to get back under the bar, we’ll help you do it safely and effectively.

The Bottom Line

So, how many sessions does it take to get out of pain?

For most people: 3–6 sessions for initial relief, 8–12 for full recovery.

But the real goal isn’t just to stop hurting. It’s to move better, lift stronger, and keep pain from coming back.

Ready to Start Your Recovery?

Don’t just hope the pain goes away. Build the foundation for lasting relief and performance.

📞 Call/Text: (925) 397-0399
📧 Email: Abigail@BaxPerformanceRehab.com

Sources

• American Physical Therapy Association – How Long Does Physical Therapy Take?

• Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy – Predictors of Recovery Time in Musculoskeletal Pain

• Harvard Health Publishing – The Science of Pain and Recovery