Chronic Pain Treatment in Howell, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Howell, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating effect it can have on your life. For some of us, 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 completing daily activities like carrying in groceries, or the things we love best, whether that be flying down the court or working in the garden.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy locations devoted to helping our Howell, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. To get back to the activities you love most, call our location nearest you or make an appointment 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 be constant or can come and go, can be localized or radiate through your body, and can range from dull soreness to agonizing pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of American adults dealt with chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those who experienced chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, which is pain that occurs on more days than not that affects how somebody can work or enjoy other activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain reduces quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and trouble sleeping.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. Often, pain is due to an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a known, root cause such as falling, 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 known. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no discernible cause for someone’s chronic pain. 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 irritated or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing joint pain.
• A variety of conditions that cause lower back pain — Up to 84% of adults will deal with 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 lead to pain when they push up against 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 pointers for easing chronic pain, and while many are effective, many of our Howell, MO patients tell us that they have tried everything and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to a pain-free daily life.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Howell, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic care, 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 of our 15 locations for a free screening to better understand why you might be suffering from chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? When does it come on? When does it get better? How is limiting you in your daily life? From there, we’ll work in tandem with you and your physician to come up with a customized course of treatment aimed at getting you back to the things you love most.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of optimal mobility eases pain and enhances your daily life by making your body work better, and disrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, your age, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Howell, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but helps with any depression, stress, and/or anxiety caused by your pain. A licensed Howell, MO physical therapist will lead you through exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further 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. 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 promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Howell, 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 treatment method used by itself.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specialized tools, like Astym®, 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 treatment method that increasingly more Howell, 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 affected area.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes over the body part that’s causing you pain. It delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that block the transmission of pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Howell, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other services we offer in Howell, MO include:

• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment
• Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment
• Running Injury

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Howell, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to deliver positive patient outcomes and help people get back to the things they love doing most. Whether you want to be able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Howell, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.