Chronic Pain Treatment in Dardenne Prairie, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Dardenne Prairie, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how limiting it can be. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it leads us to lose sight of how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily activities like doing household chores, or the activities we love most, whether that be dominating your local pickleball league or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy centers dedicated to helping our Dardenne Prairie, MO patients find lasting relief through customized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. To get back to a pain-free daily life, call our location nearest you or schedule an appointment for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after 12 weeks, 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 range from aching to agonizing pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of American adults 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. Anyone who suffers from pain frequently will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain affects quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

Why Do People Experience Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Often, pain is caused by a specific incident or illness. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, underlying cause such as being hit with something, 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 known. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts after the tissue is repaired . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or degenerative disease. 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 and other diseases 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 chronic pain in the affected joint.
• Numerous different conditions that cause low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at a physically demanding job, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• 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 pain you feel in your muscles all over your body.
• 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 depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

There are many suggestions for managing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Dardenne Prairie, MO tell us that they have 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 things that are most important to them.

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Dardenne Prairie, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic care, massage, and regular exercise. Research demonstrates that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You can come to any Axes location in the Dardenne Prairie area for a free screening to better understand why you might be experiencing chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. How often do you have pain? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? From there, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to come up with a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at getting you back to the things you love most.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to function better, and breaking up 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 Dardenne Prairie, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety related to your pain. A qualified Dardenne Prairie, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be performed without pain, rebuilding 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 encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Dardenne Prairie, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective 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 HawkGrips®.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that increasingly more Dardenne Prairie, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. 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 stimulates 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 delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving 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 Dardenne Prairie, 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 services we offer in Dardenne Prairie, MO include:

• Beginner Running Program
• Spine Specialist Near Me
• MCL Injury
• Shoulder Pain
• Injury Prevention
• Mobility
• Knee Injury
• Joint Pain
• Sciatica

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Dardenne Prairie, MO, our objectives are simple: to deliver positive client experiences and help people return to 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 get out of bed in the morning pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Dardenne Prairie, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.