Chronic Pain Treatment in Earth City, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Earth City, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating consequences it can have on your life. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we forget 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 doing household chores, or the things we love doing the most, whether that be flying down the court or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical therapy treatment centers dedicated to helping our Earth City, MO patients find meaningful relief through personalized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. To get back to a pain-free daily life, reach out to the location nearest you or contact us online for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, which is how long it typically takes pain to go away after an injury, surgery, or illness. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can stay in one spot or radiate through your body, and can change in severity from stiffness to searing, intense pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five adults nationwide dealt with chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those who experienced chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, which is pain that occurs on more days than not that limits work or life activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Often, pain is due to trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a known, root cause such as being hit with something, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a moment to several weeks.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . 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 conditions that cause joint pain — The cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in our joints can become damaged or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
• Numerous different conditions that cause low back pain — Up to 84% of adults will deal with back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at a job that requires physical exertion, sciatica, or disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they push up against other parts inside your body.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, 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 rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of mental health issues or your personal history.

You can read our tips for easing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Earth City, MO tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward meaningful pain relief and getting back to the things that are most important to them.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Earth City, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, yoga, and regular 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 of our 15 locations for a free screening to better understand 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? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How is limiting you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to design a personalized 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 movement health eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and disrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, how old you are, 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 chemical messengers, which not only reduces pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety you feel because of your pain. A professional Earth City, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With guided exercise, 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. 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 muscles and joints. Your Earth City, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely move your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either treatment method used alone.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is a form of 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 tool that increasingly more Earth City, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate damaged muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as it encourages the body to start to heal itself and encourages the flow of blood 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 awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain signals.

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 teach you appropriate posture and movement techniques, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Earth City, MO include:

• 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
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Earth City, MO, our objectives are simple: to deliver positive client experiences and help people get back to the things they love doing most. Whether you want to be 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 Earth City, MO today or schedule an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.