Chronic Pain Treatment in Hawk Point, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Hawk Point, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating effect it can have on your life. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it causes us to lose sight of how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily activities like walking up the stairs, or the things we love best, whether that be sprinting down the field or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy centers devoted to helping our Hawk Point, MO patients find meaningful relief through customized chronic pain treatment plans, based on techniques that have been demonstrated to work. To get back to a pain-free daily life, reach out to 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 doesn’t go away after 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 be anything from dull soreness to stinging pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five American adults had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those with chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, which is pain that occurs on more days than not that 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 trouble sleeping.

What’s Behind Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Often, pain is due to a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as stubbing your toe, 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 after the tissue is repaired . In other cases, 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 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.
• Numerous different conditions that cause lower back pain — Up to 84% of adults suffer from back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at work, sciatica, or disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they bother tissue, nerves, or organs.
• 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 — Sometimes, there is no underlying musculoskeletal cause, but because there is dysfunction in the nervous system, or because of mental health issues or your personal history.

There are many suggestions for managing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many of our Hawk Point, MO patients tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy is the strategy that finally gets them relief and returns them to a pain-free daily life.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Hawk Point, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, and regular 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 of our 15 locations 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? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How is limiting you in your daily life? From there, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to come up with a customized course of treatment aimed at returning you to the things you love most.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you reach optimal mobility relieves pain and enhances your daily life by making your body function 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 the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Hawk Point, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only alleviates pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A professional Hawk Point, MO physical therapist can guide through exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With these exercises, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions without pain, restoring 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 the surrounding tissues. Your Hawk Point, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely put pressure on 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.

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 is becoming more popular among Hawk Point, MO physical therapist. 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 affected area.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. It sends low-voltage electrical currents to release endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that prevent 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 Hawk Point, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement techniques, as well as healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other services we offer in Hawk Point, MO include:

• Physical Therapy Clinic
• 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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Hawk Point, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to deliver positive patient outcomes and help people get back to their best life. Whether you want to be able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Hawk Point, MO today or make an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.