The 3 Phases of Healing: Release, Reorganize, Rebuild
Healing isn’t a straight line. It’s a dynamic process that unfolds in three distinct phases: Release, Reorganize, and Rebuild. Whether you’re recovering from physical, emotional, or neurological stress, understanding these phases helps you embrace the journey, knowing that each step plays a vital role in your overall well-being.
This blog is especially helpful for patients currently under chiropractic care, providing insight into how your care plan’s frequency and repetition support each phase of healing.
Phase 1: Release (Letting Go of Stress and Interference)
The first phase of healing is all about releasing the accumulated stress and interference within your nervous system. This is where chiropractic adjustments play a crucial role—helping to remove the neurological roadblocks that have been holding your body back.
What Happens in the Release Phase:
Reduction of Nervous System Tension: Your body starts to unwind from chronic stress patterns, shifting out of the fight-or-flight mode.
Initial Symptom Relief: You may notice a decrease in pain, tension, or discomfort as your nervous system begins to function more freely.
Emotional Release: Some people experience emotional shifts as the body lets go of stored trauma or stress responses. This is often referred to as a neuro-emotional detox, where the release of long-held stress can feel intense but is actually a sign that the body is recognizing and processing stacked stress.
What You Might Feel:
Improved mobility, better sleep, and more mental clarity
Temporary discomfort as your body adjusts to new patterns (sometimes called a “healing response”)
Emotional ups and downs as old stress patterns are released
How This Looks for Children:
Better sleep patterns, fewer tantrums, improved digestion
Changes in mood or behavior as their nervous system recalibrates
Fluctuating sensory sensitivities as their body processes stress differently
The key in this phase is patience. Your body is beginning to communicate more clearly, and while relief may come quickly, true healing is just getting started. This is why frequent, consistent adjustments are essential—each adjustment builds on the last, reinforcing the release process.
Read more about the 3 Stages of a Subluxation to understand what causes this stress. Learn more about the Neuro-Emotional Detox and how it impacts your healing journey.
Phase 2: Reorganize (Rewiring the Nervous System for Adaptability)
After releasing stress, your body enters the reorganize phase, where it starts to rewire and adapt. This is where real transformation happens—your nervous system is learning new ways to respond to stress, regulate emotions, and maintain balance.
What Happens in the Reorganize Phase:
Neuroplasticity in Action: Your brain and nervous system create new, healthier connections, improving how you process information and respond to your environment.
Improved Stress Resilience: You’ll notice that you handle physical and emotional stress more effectively.
Shift from Symptom Focus to Function: The goal isn’t just to feel better; it’s to function better at every level.
What You Might Feel:
Increased energy and mental clarity
Better emotional regulation and adaptability
Occasional setbacks as your body tests new patterns
How This Looks for Children:
Improved focus and attention in school
Better emotional regulation and fewer meltdowns
Enhanced developmental milestones (like speech or motor skills) becoming more consistent
This phase requires consistency. Just like learning a new skill, your nervous system needs repetition and time to create lasting change. This is why care plans often include multiple visits per week—we’re reinforcing new patterns in the nervous system for long-term adaptability.
The time you spend in this phase depends on the staging of your subluxation and your unique subluxation patterns, which determine how deeply stress has been stored and how your body adapts to change.
Check out 6 Signs of Healing to identify progress beyond symptom relief.
Phase 3: Rebuild (Strengthening for Long-Term Wellness)
In the rebuild phase, your body focuses on strengthening and optimizing the new neurological pathways established during the reorganize phase. This is where you move beyond healing from past stressors and step into a state of resilience and vitality.
What Happens in the Rebuild Phase:
Long-Term Nervous System Balance: Your body operates efficiently, with strong brain-body communication and balanced autonomic function.
Peak Performance: Whether it’s physical fitness, emotional stability, or cognitive clarity, you’re functioning at your best.
Ongoing Adaptability: Life will always bring stress, but your nervous system is now equipped to handle it with ease.
What You Might Feel:
Consistent energy, focus, and emotional balance
Strong immune function and faster recovery from illness or injury
A sense of ease and flow in your daily life
How This Looks for Children:
Fewer sick days and faster recovery from common illnesses
Improved learning, memory, and cognitive development
Emotional confidence and resilience in social settings
The rebuild phase is where chiropractic care becomes part of your wellness lifestyle, not just a response to symptoms. It’s about maintaining and optimizing the health you’ve worked hard to achieve, often with less frequent but consistent adjustments to support lifelong health.
Supporting Your Healing by Removing the 3 T’s: To assist your body in all phases of healing, it's helpful to reduce the 3 T’s:
Thoughts (Emotional Stress): Chronic stress, anxiety, negative thinking patterns, unresolved trauma, and lack of emotional support can overwhelm the nervous system. Practicing mindfulness, deep breathing, and building strong support systems can help mitigate these effects.
Toxins (Chemical Stress): Exposure to processed foods, environmental pollutants, medications, artificial additives, and even household chemicals can disrupt your body's balance. Opting for whole, nutrient-dense foods, staying hydrated, and reducing exposure to harmful chemicals support your body’s natural detox processes.
Traumas (Physical Stress): Physical injuries from accidents, repetitive strain, poor posture, birth trauma, or even prolonged sedentary lifestyles create tension in the nervous system. Regular movement, stretching, chiropractic adjustments, and proper ergonomics can help alleviate this physical stress.
Addressing these factors alongside chiropractic care can significantly enhance your healing process.
Healing is a Journey, Not a Destination
It’s important to remember that healing isn’t always linear. You might move back and forth between these phases depending on life’s stressors, your health history, and your body’s needs. Progress isn’t just about feeling better—it’s about functioning better.
For many individuals and families, chiropractic care doesn’t end with the completion of an initial care plan. In fact, approximately 80% of our practice members choose to continue with chiropractic care as part of their ongoing lifestyle, utilizing membership plans designed to support nervous system health consistently. This approach allows patients to continue the momentum they have achieved, adapt to new stressors effectively, and prioritize wellness as part of their weekly health regimen.
Key Takeaways:
Release: Clear out the stress and interference
Reorganize: Rewire the nervous system for resilience
Rebuild: Strengthen and maintain long-term wellness
Chiropractic care isn’t a quick fix or a treatment for specific conditions. It’s a way to support your body’s natural ability to heal, adapt, and thrive.
