Healing occurs over a few different stages. Moreover, the signs that an injury is healing may be different from that of a wound. With that in mind, the general healing stages of an injury and the accompanying signs are as follows: • Inflammatory stage: inflammation in the injured area protects the injury from movement, kills bacteria to prevent infection, cleans tissue debris, and initiates the healing process by letting more blood pool in the injured area. Some signs of the inflammatory stage include pain, swelling, warmth, redness, muscle spasms, and reduced range of motion. • Repair stage: in the repair stage, your body begins to develop new tissues in the affected area to replace the damaged ones, causing scar formation to occur. Signs of the repair stage include less pain, swelling, redness, warmth, muscle spasms, and improved range of motion, but pain likely still occurs with movement or when pressure is applied to the injury. • Remodelling stage: the new tissues are molded and properly aligned in the remodeling stage. There are minimal signs of this stage in the healing process, as most individuals will feel back to normal during this stage. Concerning wounds, healing typically occurs according to the following phases: • Blood clots: increased platelets in the blood will be produced and sent to the injured area to help the blood clot and stop the bleeding. This stage in the wound healing process happens immediately after a wound occurs. • Scab formation: once the blood clots and dries, a scab will form to protect the wound from infection. Some signs of this stage in the healing process include slight swelling, red or pink color, tenderness, and possibly clear fluid oozing from the wound. • Tissue growth and rebuilding: the body creates new tissues to replace the damaged ones, granulation tissue begins to form within the wound, and new skin forms over the granulation tissue. Some signs that the wound has reached this stage in the healing process include shrinking in size, edges pulling inward, and increased itchiness. • Scar formation and wound strengthening: after the scab falls off, the area will appear shiny, stretched, and red as a scar forms. The scar is weaker and less flexible than the surrounding skin. Over time, the scar will fade, and the skin will become stronger around the wound.