Chronic Pain Treatment Crestwood, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Crestwood, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Crestwood, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how limiting it can be. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we forget how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily tasks like walking up the stairs, or the things we love doing the most, whether that be flying down the field or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy locations devoted to helping our Crestwood, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through custom-tailored chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. To get back to the activities you love most, call the location nearest you or make an appointment for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after three months, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can be localized or hit different body parts, and can change in severity from dull soreness to searing, intense pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of U.S. adults had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those with chronic pain) had “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 higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

What Causes 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 at once, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as burns, cuts, broken bones, dental work, or surgery. It can last for anywhere from a moment 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 . In other cases, it’s caused by an illness, or degenerative disease. 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 irritated or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
Numerous different conditions that lead to low 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, wear and tear at work, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they bother other parts inside your body.
Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, this refers to widespread muscle pain and tenderness.
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 depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

You can read our suggestions for relieving chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many people we see in Crestwood, MO tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to the activities they love.

Chronic Pain Treatment Crestwood, MO | Pain Management | Physical Therapist Near Crestwood

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Crestwood, MO, including medication, chiropractic care, massage, and regular exercise. Research demonstrates that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You are welcome to visit any Axes location in the Crestwood area for a free screening to learn what might be causing your chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How is limiting you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to design a customized course of treatment aimed at returning you a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by stretching and strengthening your body. Helping you reach optimal mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body function better, and interrupting certain nerves from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, your age, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Crestwood, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only reduces pain but helps with related symptoms like stress and depression. A professional Crestwood, MO physical therapist can guide through exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. 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 incorporates therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Crestwood, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely move your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that is becoming more popular among Crestwood, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. This eases pain as it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the flow of blood to the region.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. It sends low-voltage electrical currents to release endorphins and awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Crestwood, 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 Crestwood, MO include:

Chronic Pain Treatment Crestwood, MO | Physical Therapy | Pain Management Near Crestwood

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Crestwood, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to deliver positive patient experiences and help people return to to their best life. Whether you miss being able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Crestwood, MO today or make an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.