Chronic Pain Treatment in Gilmore, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Gilmore, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how hard it is to express how much it limits you. 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 tasks like walking up the stairs, or the things we love best, whether that be dominating your local flag football league or being able to properly look after your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy locations dedicated to helping our Gilmore, MO patients find lasting relief through personalized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call our location most convenient for you you or make an appointment for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after 3-6 months, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or hit different muscles or joints, and can be anything from dull soreness to agonizing pain.

According to 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) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, which is persistent pain limits work or life 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 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 discernible, underlying cause such as being hit with something, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks.

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 . Other times, it’s caused by a medical condition, or happens as our bodies weaken with age. Sometimes, there is no perceptible cause for someone’s chronic pain. Common types and causes of chronic pain include:

• Arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, and other conditions 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 joint pain.
• Numerous different conditions that cause low 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, wear and tear 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 experts are still trying to understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, this refers to pain that affects your muscles and joints throughout your body.
• 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 mental health issues or your personal history.

You can check out our suggestions for relieving chronic pain, and while many are effective, many of our Gilmore, MO patients have felt like they tried all of them and more and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward meaningful pain relief and getting back to the activities they love.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of modalities in Gilmore, MO, including medication, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, massage therapy, and regular exercise. Research demonstrates that including physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to considerable improvement. You can visit any Axes location in the Gilmore 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? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll work in tandem with you and your doctor to develop a tailor-made treatment plan aimed at returning you to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you reach the best possible mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body 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 Gilmore, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only reduces pain but helps with related symptoms like stress and depression. A professional Gilmore, MO physical therapist can guide through exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further pain or injury. With these exercises, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions 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 incorporates therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Gilmore, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on soft tissue. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective than either technique used alone.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specialized tools, like HawkGrips®, instead of their hands, to improve tissue alignment and locate degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that is becoming more popular among Gilmore, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself and stimulates the nutrient-rich blood flow 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-level electrical currents to release endorphins and awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to cope with it can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Gilmore, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, as well as healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in Gilmore, MO include:

• 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
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Gilmore, MO, our goals are simple: to achieve positive patient experiences and help our patients return to to their best life. Whether you miss being able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Gilmore, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.