Chronic Pain Treatment in Ballwin, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Ballwin, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how limiting it can be. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it leads us to forget how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing basic activities like carrying in groceries, or the things we love doing the most, whether that be dominating your local softball league or playing with your grandchildren.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of provider-owned physical therapy treatment centers committed to helping our Ballwin, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to a pain-free daily life, reach out to the location nearest you or request an appointment for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can stay in one spot or radiate through your body, and can range from dull soreness to burning pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide dealt with chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those who experienced chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, which is persistent pain limits work or life activities. Anyone who suffers from frequent pain symptoms will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain affects quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

Why Do People Experience Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damaged tissue, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. Often, pain is due to an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, root cause such as burns, cuts, broken bones, dental work, or surgery. It can last for anywhere from a few minutes to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain after the tissue is repaired . Other times, it’s caused by a medical condition, or occurs as our bodies weaken with age. Sometimes, the pain isn’t caused by a specific condition, but rather from things like poor posture, obesity, or overexertion. Common types and causes of chronic pain include:

• Arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, and other conditions that cause joint pain — The soft tissue in our joints can become damaged or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• A variety of conditions that lead to lower back pain — Up to 84% of adults suffer from back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at a job that requires physical exertion, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they push up against other parts inside your body.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, this refers to pain you feel in your muscles all over your body.
• Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — Sometimes, pain does not occur for a physical reason, but rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of mental health issues or your personal history.

There are many pointers for relieving chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many of our Ballwin, MO patients tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to a pain-free daily life.

Why Is Physical Therapy in Ballwin, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of modalities in Ballwin, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You are welcome to visit any of our 15 locations for a free screening to learn why you might be experiencing chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? Does anything make it better or worse? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll form a team with you and your physician to design a customized treatment plan aimed at returning you a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and flexibility. Helping you achieve optimal movement health eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and interrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Ballwin, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only alleviates pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed Ballwin, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With these exercises, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions without pain, rebuilding your brain’s trust in the rest of your body. We’ll also show you light exercises you can do outside of our sessions.

Manual Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization

Manual therapy involves therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Ballwin, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely put pressure on soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either technique used alone.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specially designed tools, like Astym®, instead of their hands, to improve tissue alignment and locate degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that is becoming more popular among Ballwin, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate irritated muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself and stimulates the nutrient-rich blood flow to the region.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes on the skin near where you are experiencing pain. It sends low-level electrical currents to release endorphins and awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to cope with it can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Ballwin, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement techniques, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other conditions we treat in Ballwin, MO include:

• Beginner Running Program
• Spine Specialist Near Me
• MCL Injury
• Shoulder Pain
• Injury Prevention
• Mobility
• Knee Injury
• Joint Pain
• Sciatica

Call Axes Physical Therapy For Your Chronic Pain Treatment in Ballwin, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Ballwin, MO, our objectives are simple: to deliver positive client outcomes and help people get back to the things they love doing most. Whether you miss being able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Ballwin, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.