Chronic Pain Treatment in House Springs, MO

Chronic pain treatment in House Springs, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how limiting it can be. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we lose sight of 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 most, whether that be dominating your local pick-up league or working in the garden.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy locations committed to helping our House Springs, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through personalized chronic pain treatment plans, based on techniques that have been demonstrated to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call our 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 3-6 months, which is how long it takes most people and conditions to heal. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or hit different body parts, and can range from aching to agonizing pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of adults nationwide had 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 enjoy other activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain affects quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

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. In most cases, pain is caused by a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as burns, cuts, broken bones, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts 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 an illness, or happens as our bodies wear down as we age. 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, bursitis, tendinitis, and other conditions that cause joint pain — The soft tissue in our joints can become irritated or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
• A variety of conditions that cause lower 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 a physically demanding job, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they bother tissue, nerves, or organs.
• 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 depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

There are many tips for easing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many of our House Springs, MO patients have felt like they tried everything and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to the things that are most important to them.

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in House Springs, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic care, massage, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that including physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can come to any of our 15 locations for a free screening to better understand why you might be experiencing chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. How often do you have pain? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to come up with a customized course of treatment aimed at getting you back a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and flexibility. 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, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in House Springs, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only alleviates pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed House Springs, MO physical therapist can guide through 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 promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your House Springs, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective 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 Astym®.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that increasingly more House Springs, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate inflamed soft tissue. 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 where the pain is located. It sends low-voltage electrical currents to release endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in House Springs, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other conditions we treat in House Springs, 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 House Springs, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in House Springs, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive patient experiences and help our patients return to to their best life. Whether you want to be able to run across the pickleball court like you used to, or just want to get out of bed in the morning pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in House Springs, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.