Chronic Pain Treatment in Chesterfield, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Chesterfield, MO. Anyone who has had to deal with chronic pain knows how limiting it can be. For some of us, 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 daily tasks like carrying in groceries, or the things we love doing the most, whether that be flying down the court or being able to properly look after your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical therapy and rehabilitation locations devoted to helping our Chesterfield, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through custom-tailored and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to the activities you love most, reach out to 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 3-6 months, which is how long it typically takes pain to go away after an injury, surgery, or illness. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or hit different muscles or joints, and can change in severity from stiffness to stinging pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% 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 reduces quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and trouble sleeping.

Why Do People Experience Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is due to trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, underlying cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily known. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain even after it’s healed . In other cases, it’s caused by a medical condition, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no observable 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 inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• Numerous different conditions that lead to low back pain — Up to 84% of adults will deal with 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 bother tissue, nerves, or organs.
• 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, pain does not occur for a physical reason, but because there is an issue in the nervous system, or because of depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

There are many pointers for managing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many of our Chesterfield, MO patients have felt like they tried everything and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to the things that are most important to them.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Chesterfield, MO, including medication, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, and regular exercise. Research demonstrates that including physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to visit any of our 15 locations for a free screening to learn what might be causing your chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? 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 course of treatment aimed at returning you a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Collectively improving those aspects of optimal mobility eases pain and enhances your daily life by allowing your body to work better, and disrupting certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, how old you are, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Chesterfield, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only reduces pain but eases any psychological stress caused by your pain. A licensed Chesterfield, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further pain or injury. With guided exercise, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions without pain, restoring your brain’s trust in the rest of your body. 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 muscles and joints. Your Chesterfield, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new technique that increasingly more Chesterfield, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and stimulates the nutrient-rich blood flow to the affected body part.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. It delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Chesterfield, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in Chesterfield, MO include:

• Soft Tissue Mobilization
• Post Surgical Rehabilitation
• Shin Splint Treatment
• Direct Access Physical Therapy
• Gait Analysis
• Pelvic Floor Therapy
• Dry Needling Near Me
• Tendonitis Treatment
• Manual Physical Therapy
• Orthopedic Rehab Near Me

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Chesterfield, MO, our goals are clear: to deliver positive patient outcomes and help people return to to the things they love doing most. Whether you want to be able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Chesterfield, MO today or schedule an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.