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healing over time

DOMS vs injury

July 29, 2025 · In: Pain Science and Healing, Science-Backed Education

DOMS vs Injury: What Your Body is Really Telling You

You crushed your workout and now your muscles are letting you know it. Now the question starts rolling around in your head: DOMS vs injury? Is this normal soreness or…

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tissue healing timeline

June 24, 2025 · In: Pain Science and Healing, Science-Backed Education

A Guide to the Tissue Healing Timeline

When you experience an injury, the journey from initial pain to full recovery can seem daunting. What we don’t see or recognize is the process of tissue healing. This is…

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tommy john surgery

May 27, 2025 · In: Injuries and Surgeries, Science-Backed Education

What is the Recovery Time After Tommy John Surgery?

There is no doubt that Tommy John surgery is on the rise, especially within the baseball community. In 2024, nearly 36% of all active MLB pitchers have undergone Tommy John…

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bulging disc

May 20, 2025 · In: Pain Science and Healing, Science-Backed Education

I Have a Bulging Disc. What Do I Do Now?

A bulging disc is when an intervertebral disc extends beyond its usual boundary. There are varying degrees to how severe a bulging disc may be. More severe cases result in…

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rotator cuff tear

April 29, 2025 · In: Injuries and Surgeries, Science-Backed Education

How to Heal a Rotator Cuff Tear Naturally

The shoulder is a very mobile joint. Because of that, it requires a lot of strength and stability. If you aren’t making a conscious effort to strengthen your rotator cuff,…

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biceps strain

April 22, 2025 · In: Injuries and Surgeries, Science-Backed Education

A Complete Guide to Understanding a Biceps Strain

A biceps strain often happens unexpectedly. Ever been at the gym or lifting a heavy object, and out of nowhere, you feel this sharp pain through your arm? This type…

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Meet Tera

Meet Tera
hi, i'm tera!

I'm a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy and the founder of PT Complete. I built the Regulate and Rebuild Method because most people trying to get back into their body after chronic pain are told to either push through it or rest completely, and neither one actually works. I write from the clinic and from my own body, since I'm working through my own chronic pain story right now, too. When I'm not working, you'll probably find me managing the regular chaos of life or curled up with coffee and a dessert I can't seem to quit.

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Featured Posts

woman pausing in her car before a holiday family gathering while managing chronic pain

Holiday Family Stress and Your Nervous System: Why Gatherings Can Trigger Fight-or-Flight

woman deciding how to reply to a holiday invitation while managing chronic pain

How to Say No During the Holidays With Chronic Pain and Handle the Guilt

woman testing a gentle movement baseline during a slow walk

What is Gentle Movement? (And Why Most Advice Gets It Wrong)

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@teravaughn22

terasandona

Chronic pain coaching • Ditch the push-crash loop
Licensed DPT • Regulate first, rebuild second, then layer
👇🏻 Free nervous system workbook

I currently do not squat, lunge, or deadlift. I g I currently do not squat, lunge, or deadlift.

I get why everyone defaults to these movements. They’re efficient, they build strength, and if your body can tolerate them, there’s nothing wrong with having them in a program.

For a long time, I assumed that if I pushed through it, my body would eventually catch up. That’s not how it works when you’re dealing with chronic pain. Pushing through leads to a setback fast.

Your back is tied directly into what your hips and legs are doing. Careful form can only take it so far out of the equation, especially when weakness is involved.

A few months ago, I was doing bodyweight versions of these same exercises at home. Every time, it aggravated my back. So I stepped back to isolated machines instead.

Here’s what made it click. I couldn’t even tolerate a leg extension machine at 30lbs. I weigh about 120. There was no version of me safely squatting my own bodyweight and that’s still true right now.

Isolated machines do exactly what they’re built for. They isolate one muscle group and take my back out of the equation so I can still train and progressively add weight at a pace that’s safe for my body.

If a compound lift keeps interfering with your back, this is where I’d start looking instead.

Send this to the friend who keeps getting told squats are non-negotiable.
It was a Sunday and I woke up feeling good, better It was a Sunday and I woke up feeling good, better than I expected after lifting the day before. I went on a 40 minute walk, did laundry and vacuumed, and had a home leg workout planned for later.

Then around early afternoon, my energy tanked. I could still putter around the house, but the thought of starting that workout felt like more than I had left.

If you’ve had energy for everything except the one thing you planned, I know how much that one can sting.

Looking back, it was hot, I’d barely eaten, and I hadn’t slept well most of that week. Each of those can pull from the same energy you’d use to train, and that day, I had all three. What felt like a motivation problem was my body showing me what the day had already used up.

So I moved the workout to Monday instead of forcing it (and let myself have the day).

Send this to the friend who feels guilty every time a planned workout doesn’t happen.

#chronicpainlife #chronicfatiguesyndrome #lowenergy #paceyourself #functionalcapacity
Nothing about chopping vegetables is urgent and my Nothing about chopping vegetables is urgent and my jaw was still clenched like it was.

If you just checked and your teeth were touching, you’re not doing anything wrong. When you’ve been running on alert for a while, your nervous system can start treating ordinary moments like urgent ones, and your jaw braces right along with it while you scroll, answer emails, or cook dinner.

Over time that can stack into headaches, jaw pain, and neck tension.

You don’t have to fix it the moment you catch it. Right now the goal is to notice it in the everyday moments it tends to hide, so it stops being something your body does without you knowing.

Save this and check your jaw the next time you open your inbox.

#jawclenching #jawtension #nervoussystemhealth #stressandpain #chronicpainawareness
Happy 1st anniversary to my other half 💕 Getting Happy 1st anniversary to my other half 💕

Getting to relive the best day ever, reminiscing through these photos, and visiting our favorite place is more than I could ask for. Can’t wait for many more of these years to come ❤️
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