Chronic Pain Treatment in Earth City, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Earth City, MO. Anyone who has lived with chronic pain knows the debilitating effect it can have on your life. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it causes us to forget what it feels like to live a pain-free life. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic activities like walking up the stairs, or the things we love best, whether that be dominating your local softball league or playing with your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical therapy treatment locations devoted to helping our Earth City, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through personalized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been demonstrated to work. To get back to the activities you love most, reach out to our location nearest you or request an appointment for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 12 weeks, 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 hit different muscles or joints, and can range from stiffness to searing, intense pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five 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 affects how somebody can work or perform other 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 higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damaged tissue, 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 at once, usually because of a discernible, root 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, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily identifiable. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . In other cases, it’s caused by a medical condition, 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 inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
• Numerous different conditions that cause low back pain — Up to 84% of 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 push up against tissue, nerves, or organs.
• 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 psychological stress.

You can check out our tips for relieving chronic pain, and while many are effective, many people we see in Earth City, MO have felt like they tried everything 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.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of modalities in Earth City, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, massage therapy, and regular exercise. Research demonstrates that including physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can come to any Axes location in the Earth City 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. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? When does it come on? When does it get better? How is limiting you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll work in tandem with you and your physician to develop a customized course of treatment aimed at returning you a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Collectively improving those aspects of optimal movement health relieves pain and enhances your daily life by allowing your body to work better, and interrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Earth City, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good hormone, which not only alleviates pain but helps with any depression, stress, and/or anxiety related to your pain. A professional Earth City, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further pain or injury. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be carried out without pain, rebuilding your brain’s trust in the rest of your body. We’ll also show you light exercises you can do outside of our sessions.

Manual Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization

Manual therapy incorporates therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Earth City, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate your muscles and joints. 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 specialized 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 technique that more and more Earth City, 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 and connective tissue. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and stimulates the flow of nutrients to the affected area.

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 awakens nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to cope with it can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Earth City, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement techniques, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Earth City, MO include:

• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment
• Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment
• Running Injury

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Earth City, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to deliver positive client experiences and help our patients get back to the activities they love. Whether you want to be able to run across the pickleball court like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Earth City, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.