Chronic Pain Treatment Lake St. Louis, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Lake St. Louis, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Lake St. Louis, MO. Anyone who has suffered from chronic pain knows how limiting it can be. For some of us, the months or years we’ve dealt with it leads us to lose sight of how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing basic tasks 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 group of 15 physical therapy and rehabilitation locations dedicated to helping our Lake St. Louis, MO patients find meaningful relief through personalized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to the activities you love most, reach out to the location nearest you or make an appointment for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 12 weeks, which is how long it takes most people and conditions to heal. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can be localized or hit different body parts, and can range from dull soreness to stinging pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide suffered from 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 affects how somebody can work or enjoy other activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damaged tissue, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. Often, pain is due to trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a discernible, root 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, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain even after it’s healed . In other cases, it’s caused by an illness, or happens as our bodies weaken with age. Sometimes, there is no observable cause for someone’s chronic pain. Common types and causes of chronic pain include:

Arthritis and other diseases that cause joint pain — The cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in our joints can become irritated or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
A variety of conditions that lead to low back pain — Up to 84% of adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at work, sciatica, or disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they grow and touch bones, your spine, or other tissue.
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 rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of mental health issues or your personal history.

You can read our tips for managing chronic pain, and while many are effective, many of our Lake St. Louis, MO patients tell us that they have tried everything and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to a pain-free daily life.

Chronic Pain Treatment Lake St. Louis, MO | Pain Management | Physical Therapist Near Lake St. Louis

Why Is Physical Therapy in Lake St. Louis, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Lake St. Louis, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and regular exercise. Research demonstrates that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to visit any Axes location in the Lake St. Louis area for a free screening to better understand why you might be suffering from chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. How often do you have pain? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to come up with a tailor-made treatment plan aimed at getting you back a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Helping you achieve optimal mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and disrupting certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Lake St. Louis, 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 helps with any psychological stress caused by your pain. A qualified Lake St. Louis, MO physical therapist can lead you through exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be carried out 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 involves therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Lake St. Louis, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently move soft tissue. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either technique used by itself.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specially designed tools, like Graston®, 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 technique that increasingly more Lake St. Louis, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged muscles and connective 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 sends low-voltage electrical currents to release endorphins and awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to cope with it can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Lake St. Louis, MO. We’ll help you learn 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 Lake St. Louis, MO include:

Chronic Pain Treatment Lake St. Louis, MO | Physical Therapy | Pain Management Near Lake St. Louis

Call Axes Physical Therapy For Your Chronic Pain Treatment in Lake St. Louis, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Lake St. Louis, MO, our objectives are simple: to achieve positive patient outcomes and help people return to to the things they love doing most. Whether you want to be 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 Lake St. Louis, MO today or make an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.