Chronic Pain Treatment in Black Jack, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Black Jack, MO. Anyone who has had to deal with chronic pain knows how limiting it can be. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we forget how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic activities like carrying in groceries, or the things we love most, whether that be dominating your local flag football league or picking up your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical and occupational therapy centers devoted to helping our Black Jack, MO patients find lasting relief through personalized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call our location nearest you or schedule an appointment for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 3-6 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 hit different body parts, and can change in severity from aching to searing, intense pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of adults nationwide suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those with chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” limits work or life activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

What’s Behind Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Often, pain is caused by an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a moment to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily identifiable. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts even after it’s healed . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or happens as our bodies weaken with age. Sometimes, there is no observable cause for someone’s chronic pain. Common types and causes of chronic pain include:

• Arthritis and other diseases that cause joint pain — The soft tissue in our joints can become inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
• A variety of conditions that cause low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at work, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they push up against bones, your spine, or other tissue.
• Fibromyalgia — While experts are still trying to understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, 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 because there is dysfunction in the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

You can read our suggestions for easing chronic pain, and while many are effective, many people we see in Black Jack, MO have felt like they tried everything 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.

How Do Physical Therapists in Black Jack, MO Help With Chronic Pain Treatment?

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Black Jack, MO, including medication, chiropractic care, yoga, and regular exercise. Studies show that including physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You can visit any of our 15 locations for a free screening to better understand why you might be experiencing chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. How often do you have pain? When does it come on? When does it get better? How is limiting you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll work in concert with you and your physician to design a customized treatment plan aimed at returning you a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible mobility eases pain and enhances your daily life by making your body function better, and breaking up certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Black Jack, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety caused by your pain. A qualified Black Jack, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With guided exercise, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be carried out without pain, rebuilding how your brain processes messages. Through guided exercise, we’ll be able to teach you safe exercises you can do on your own.

Manual Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization

Manual therapy involves therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Black Jack, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective than either treatment method used alone.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is a form of manual therapy, except that instead of their hands, physical therapists use specialized tools like Graston®.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that is becoming more popular among Black Jack, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in irritated muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the flow of nutrients to the affected body part.

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 stimulates nerve cells that block the transmission of pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a considerable positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Black Jack, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement techniques, as well as healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Black Jack, MO include:

• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Black Jack, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive patient outcomes and help people return to to the activities they love. Whether you want to be able to run across the pickleball court like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Black Jack, MO today or make an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.