Chronic Pain Treatment Ironton, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Ironton, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Ironton, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how limiting it can be. For some of us, the months or years we’ve dealt with it causes us to forget how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing daily activities like carrying in groceries, or the activities we love most, whether that be sprinting down the field or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy centers committed to helping our Ironton, MO patients find meaningful relief through personalized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to a pain-free daily life, call the location most convenient for you you or make an appointment for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after three months, which is how long it typically takes pain to go away after an injury, surgery, or illness. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can stay in one spot or hit different body parts, and can be anything from stiffness to agonizing pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five adults nationwide suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those with 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. 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 higher medical expenses. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

What’s Behind Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damaged tissue, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. In most cases, 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 an injury, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. 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 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 inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
A variety of conditions that lead to low 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 work, 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 because there is dysfunction in the nervous system, or because of depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

You can check out our tips for relieving chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many of our Ironton, MO patients tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to the things that are most important to them.

Chronic Pain Treatment Ironton, MO | Pain Management | Physical Therapist Near Ironton

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of modalities in Ironton, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic care, massage, and consistent exercise. Studies show that including physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to visit 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. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll work in tandem with you and your physician to come up with a personalized course of treatment aimed at returning you to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and flexibility. Helping you achieve the best possible mobility relieves pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to work better, and interrupting certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, how old you are, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Ironton, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only reduces pain but helps with related symptoms like stress and depression. A qualified Ironton, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more 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 promote healing and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Ironton, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely manipulate soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective than either technique used by itself.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is a form of manual therapy, except that instead of their hands, physical therapists use specialized tools like Graston®.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that is becoming more popular among Ironton, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate damaged soft tissue. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and stimulates the flow of blood to the affected body part.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes on the skin near where you are experiencing pain. It delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain signals.

Patient Education

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

Other services we offer in Ironton, MO include:

Chronic Pain Treatment Ironton, MO | Physical Therapy | Pain Management Near Ironton

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Ironton, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to deliver positive client outcomes and help our patients get back to the things they love doing most. 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 without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Ironton, MO today or schedule an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.