Chronic Pain Treatment in Bridgeton, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Bridgeton, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how hard it is to express the effects it has on your daily life. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we lose sight of how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic tasks like carrying in groceries, or the activities we love best, whether that be sprinting down the court or playing with your kids.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical therapy treatment centers committed to helping our Bridgeton, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through custom-tailored 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 contact us online for safe 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 change in severity from dull soreness to agonizing pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those who experienced chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, which is persistent pain limits work or life activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain affects quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damaged tissue, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. Often, pain is caused by a specific incident or illness. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. It can last 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 after the tissue is repaired . In other cases, it’s caused by an illness, or occurs as our bodies wear down as we age. Sometimes, there is no perceptible cause for someone’s chronic pain. 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 irritated 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 — Almost 9 out of 10 adults will deal with back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at a physically demanding job, sciatica, or disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they grow and touch bones, your spine, or other tissue.
• Fibromyalgia — While experts are still trying to understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, this refers to widespread muscle pain and tenderness.
• Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — In some cases, there is no underlying musculoskeletal cause, but because there is an issue in the nervous system, or because of mental health issues or your personal history.

You can check out our suggestions for managing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many of our Bridgeton, MO patients have felt like they tried everything and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy is the strategy that finally gets them relief and returns them to the activities they love.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of methods in Bridgeton, MO, including medication, chiropractic care, massage, and consistent exercise. Studies show that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan can lead to considerable improvement. You are welcome to visit any of our 15 locations for a free screening to better understand why you might be suffering from chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. How often do you have pain? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? From there, we’ll work in concert with you and your physician to come up with a personalized treatment plan aimed at returning you a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you achieve optimal movement health relieves pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and interrupting certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Bridgeton, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good hormone, which not only alleviates pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety related to your pain. A professional Bridgeton, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With these exercises, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions without pain, restoring 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 promote healing and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Bridgeton, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.

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 increasingly more Bridgeton, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in inflamed muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. This eases pain as it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the nutrient-rich blood flow 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 delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and awakens nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Bridgeton, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement techniques, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Bridgeton, 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 Bridgeton, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Bridgeton, MO, our objectives are simple: to deliver positive patient outcomes and help people return to to their best life. Whether you want to be able to run across the pickleball court like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Bridgeton, MO today or make an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.