Chronic Pain Treatment in Cottleville, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Cottleville, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how limiting it can be. For some of us, it goes on so long that we lose sight of what it feels like to live a pain-free life. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic tasks like carrying in groceries, or the things we love most, whether that be dominating your local flag football league or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical therapy and rehabilitation locations devoted to helping our Cottleville, MO patients find lasting relief through custom-tailored and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call our location most convenient for you you or request an appointment for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after 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 be localized or hit different body parts, and can change in severity from aching to stinging pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of U.S. adults dealt with chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those with chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, which is pain that occurs on more days than not that limits work or life activities. Anyone who suffers from pain frequently will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain reduces 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, in general, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. Often, pain is caused by trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, root cause such as falling, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts 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 even after it’s healed . In other cases, it’s caused by a medical condition, or happens 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 cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in our joints can become damaged or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing joint pain.
• A variety of conditions that cause lower back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at a job that requires physical exertion, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they grow and touch tissue, nerves, or organs.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, this refers to pain that affects your muscles and joints throughout 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.

You can read our pointers for easing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many people we see in Cottleville, MO have felt like they tried all of them and more 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.

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Cottleville, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, yoga, and consistent exercise. Studies show that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to come to any Axes location in the Cottleville area for a free screening to learn why you might be suffering from chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. How often do you have pain? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll work in concert with you and your physician to come up with a tailor-made treatment plan aimed at returning you a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Helping you achieve the best possible mobility relieves pain and enhances your daily 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, how old you are, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Cottleville, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only reduces pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety related to your pain. A qualified Cottleville, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be achieved without pain, rebuilding 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 Cottleville, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently move your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either technique used alone.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that is becoming more popular among Cottleville, 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 flow of blood 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 prevent your brain from receiving pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a considerable positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Cottleville, MO. We’ll help you learn the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other conditions we treat in Cottleville, MO include:

• Physical Therapy Clinic
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Cottleville, MO, our objectives are clear: to deliver positive client outcomes and help our patients get back to the things they love doing most. Whether you miss being 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 Cottleville, MO today or make an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.