Chronic Pain Treatment in Florissant, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Florissant, MO. Anyone who has had to deal with chronic pain knows how limiting it can be. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we forget how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing daily activities like walking up the stairs, or the activities we love doing the most, whether that be dominating your local softball league or playing with your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical therapy treatment locations devoted to helping our Florissant, MO patients find meaningful relief through custom-tailored chronic pain treatment plans, based on techniques that have been demonstrated to work. To get back to the activities you love most, call the location most convenient for you you or contact us online for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can be localized or radiate through your body, and can change in severity from aching to burning pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide dealt with chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those who experienced chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” affects how somebody can work or perform other activities. Anyone who suffers from frequent pain symptoms will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is due to a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as an injury, 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. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts after the tissue is repaired . Other times, it’s caused by a medical condition, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no perceptible 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 inflamed or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• A variety of conditions that cause lower 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, repetitive motions at work, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can cause 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 widespread muscle pain and tenderness.
• Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — In some cases, 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 pointers for managing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Florissant, MO tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to the things that are most important to them.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of methods in Florissant, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, massage therapy, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can come to any Axes location in the Florissant area for a free screening to better understand what might be causing your 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 is limiting you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll form a team with you and your physician to come up with a tailor-made treatment plan aimed at returning you a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you achieve optimal mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body function better, and interrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Florissant, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only eases pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A qualified Florissant, MO physical therapist will 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, 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 Florissant, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective 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 improve tissue alignment and identify degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that more and more Florissant, 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, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. This eases pain as it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the nutrient-rich blood flow to the region.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. 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 considerable positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Florissant, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement practices, as well as healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Florissant, 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 Florissant, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Florissant, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive client experiences and help people get back to the activities they love. Whether you miss being able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Florissant, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.