Chronic Pain Treatment Creve Coeur, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Creve Coeur, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Creve Coeur, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating consequences it can have on your life. For some of us, 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 basic activities like doing household chores, or the activities we love most, whether that be sprinting down the court or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical therapy and rehabilitation locations dedicated to helping our Creve Coeur, MO patients find meaningful relief through custom-tailored and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, reach out to the location nearest you or contact us online 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 stay in one spot or radiate through your body, and can range from dull soreness to searing, intense pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of U.S. adults had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those who experienced chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” affects how somebody can work or enjoy other activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain reduces quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also cause significant mental health issues and trouble sleeping.

Why Do People Experience Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal through your spinal cord up to your brain. In most cases, pain is due to a specific incident or illness. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a known, underlying cause such as burns, cuts, broken bones, dental work, or surgery. It can last 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 . Other times, it’s caused by a medical condition, or occurs as our bodies wear down as we 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 soft tissue in our joints can become inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, 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, wear and tear at a physically demanding job, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
Cancer pain — Tumors can cause 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 mental health issues or your personal history.

You can check out our suggestions for easing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Creve Coeur, MO tell us that they have tried everything and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward meaningful pain relief and getting back to the activities they love.

Chronic Pain Treatment Creve Coeur, MO | Pain Management | Physical Therapist Near Creve Coeur

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Creve Coeur, MO, including medication, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, yoga, and consistent exercise. Studies show that including physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to significant 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. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? From there, we’ll work in tandem with you and your doctor to design a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at returning you to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you reach the best possible movement health relieves pain and enhances your daily life by making your body work better, and breaking up certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Creve Coeur, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only reduces pain but helps with any psychological stress caused by your pain. A professional Creve Coeur, 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, 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 incorporates therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Creve Coeur, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely manipulate your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective than either technique used alone.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that is becoming more popular among Creve Coeur, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in irritated muscles and connective tissue. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the flow of nutrients to the region.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes on the skin near where you are experiencing pain. It sends low-voltage 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 cope with it can have a considerable positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Creve Coeur, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in Creve Coeur, MO include:

Chronic Pain Treatment Creve Coeur, MO | Physical Therapy | Pain Management Near Creve Coeur

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Creve Coeur, MO, our goals are simple: to achieve positive client experiences and help our patients get back to their best life. Whether you miss being able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Creve Coeur, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.