The Recovery Balancing Act

Our dog, Spud, after having his nasal passage opened up to allow him to breathe through his nose again.

I am fascinated by the concept of cones for dogs. 

You know– those cones that we put on dogs when they have a healing wound. 

The cone is there, of course, to protect the healing area on the dog… 

…from the dog.

It’s there to protect the dog from himself!

Because we all know what happens when a dog has a wound: they can’t leave it alone, especially once it starts to heal and becomes itchy. So the dog must temporarily wear a cone so that the wound can heal uninterrupted by the dog. 

And the way that I make sense of this is that the doggy toolbox is essentially limited to short-term strategies. Things like...

• Get food & water

• Be safe & comfortable

• Play

• Rest

• Procreate

So if something hurts, they’ll lick it. If something itches, they’ll scratch it. If they find themselves in the presence of a new bag of food, they’ll rip it open and eat as much as they possibly can, even if that means being uncomfortable and taking 6 poops per day for the next several days.

Spud after getting into a bag of dogfood

And while eating when hungry, licking what’s painful, and scratching what’s itchy are all certainly worth doing at times, these very strategies can get in the way of the dog’s own health, well-being, and healing processes at other times.

So we helpful humans put a cone on them when they are healing. 

And what is the cone? A long-term strategy.

The cone doesn’t help with comfort–at least in the short term–but it helps with healing.

It doesn’t produce the immediate results that licking, biting, or scratching a wound does; but what it sacrifices in short-term comfort, it provides in long-term comfort by allowing the doggy’s body to do its thing and heal.

Spud after recovering from his nose surgery

And so there is a balance between short-term and long-term strategies that allows the dog to heal and recover, while being as comfortable as possible during the healing process.

And it is in the exact same way, that humans require a balance of short-term and long-term strategies to help the body to heal and recover in the presence of injury and/or pain. 

Short-term vs. long-term strategies

Perhaps the main difference between short-term and long-term strategies is when they are focused. 

Short-term strategies are focused on the here & now. 

When it comes to healing & recovery, short-term strategies answer questions like:

• What’s helpful right now?

• What’s comfortable?

• What feels good?

Long-term strategies, on the other hand, are future-focused. 

They answer questions like:

• What moves me toward my goals?

• What can I learn from this? 

• How can I grow through this?

Pain is a short-term strategy

Pain itself is a short-term strategy (one of many) that the mindbody uses to protect itself.

And that short-term strategy works well… in the short term. 

When an injury occurs, for example, pain may alert us that there is something worth attending to. The body region naturally becomes more sensitive as inflammation is present and tissue healing is taking place. This is a useful message that prompts us to pay attention and protect the area so that it can properly heal.

During this time, we naturally adjust our movements and activities to accommodate the healing body region. These strategies are short-term in nature and are focused on what’s helpful, comfortable, and feels good right now.

This can look like: 

• Taking breaks, resting, and generally doing less

• Performing soothing activities to dial down the discomfort

• Identifying and staying within the Zone of Comfort with movements

• Experimenting with different options

• Celebrating wins and progress

In many cases, these temporary measures result in a natural reduction in pain and sensitivity as the body heals, leading us to gradually return to the activities of our lives.

When pain (& short-term strategies) persists

But sometimes pain continues even after the body heals.

When this happens, the natural sensitivity that arose in the earlier stages of healing can remain, even after inflammation reduces and tissue healing is winding down or completed. 

When this happens, pain loses its short-term benefits, and consistent use of only short-term strategies can lead us astray.

For example, 

• If we only focus on what seems helpful right now, we might find ourselves doing something that seems helpful in the moment but turns out to not be so helpful later that day, or the next day, or for the next several days. Consistent setbacks like this can lead to an overall worsening of pain or function. 

• If we only do what's comfortable, we might avoid anything that causes any amount of discomfort, which can lead to doing less and less until we can no longer do much of what we want to do.

• And if we only focus on what feels good in the moment, we might give up on something that could be really helpful if it doesn't produce immediate positive results. This may look like trying many different treatment approaches for brief periods of time without making any meaningful changes.

These short-term strategies, while helpful in the short-term, ultimately need to be balanced by long-term strategies to produce more substantial results. 

Long-Term Strategies

For most of us, short-term strategies come most naturally. They tend to make intuitive sense and are a natural response to pain, which is unpleasant in nature and motivates other protective behaviors. 

Long-term strategies, on the other hand, can seem counter-intuitive. 

They don’t always produce immediate results, and can sometimes even require sacrifices of comfort, ease, or efficiency in the short-term. 

This may look like:

• Consistently building up activities, even if some pain is provoked

• Breaking up activities that consistently worsen symptoms into smaller, more manageable chunks

• Exploring the edges of comfort with movement

• Pushing into the edges of comfort with movement

• Setting goals, tracking progress, and reflecting on lessons learned

As you can imagine, these strategies require patience, persistence, and courage. 

And though there may be some short term sacrifices, when applied wisely, long-term strategies pay back in dividends.

Finding the Balance

When combined, a balanced approach may look like:

• Dialing Down discomfort (short-term) + Building Up activities (long-term)

• Identifying the Zone of Comfort (short-term) + Gradually pushing against its edges (long-term)

• Challenging the body (long-term) + Taking breaks and rest (short-term)

• Taking downtime (short-term) + Reflecting on lessons learned (long-term)

• Exploring options (short-term) + Tracking & observing results (long-term)

• Setting goals & tracking progress (long-term) + Celebrating wins (short-term)

It’s important to keep in mind that the balance may shift over the recovery process. 

In the earlier stages, the balance may lean toward short-term strategies. 

In the later stages, the balance may lean toward long-term strategies.

More accurately, though, what most people find is that the short-term strategies become integrated into the long-term strategies and daily life, such that while you are building consistency and working toward your goals, you are employing short-term strategies to maximize comfort, ease, and efficiency.

The Cone is Temporary

At first, Spud really didn’t like the cone. But after a while, he got used to it.

And perhaps on some level (dogs are quite wise, I find), he knew that the cone was in his best interest, and that if he just dealt with some discomfort in the short-term, he would be more comfortable in the long term as his nose healed.

Perhaps he knew that the cone wasn’t forever. It was just temporary.

Spud recovered. So can you. 

Spud and my wife, Alyssa, celebrating his healed nose

*Click here to learn more about Spud, his journey, and the journey of dozens of other rescued dogs.