Chronic Pain Treatment Lemay, MO | Physical Therapists Near Lemay

Chronic Pain Treatment in Lemay, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Lemay, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how hard it is to express how much it limits you. For some of us, 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 performing basic tasks like doing household chores, or the things we love most, whether that be dominating your local flag football league or working in the garden.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical therapy and rehabilitation centers dedicated to helping our Lemay, MO patients find meaningful relief through customized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, reach out to our location most convenient for you you or schedule an appointment for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 3-6 months, which is how long it typically takes pain to go away after an injury, surgery, or illness. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or hit different body parts, and can change in severity from stiffness to stinging pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of U.S. adults suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those with chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” 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 impacts quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

What’s Behind Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is due to an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a discernible, root cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. It can last for anywhere from a moment to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily identifiable. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . 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, bursitis, tendinitis, and other conditions that cause joint pain — The soft tissue in our joints can become damaged or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
A variety of conditions that lead to low back pain — Up to 84% of adults suffer from back pain eventually. 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 bother other parts inside your body.
Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, this refers to pain that affects your muscles and joints throughout your body.
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.

You can read our pointers for managing chronic pain, and while many are effective, many of our Lemay, MO patients have felt like they tried all of them and more and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy is the strategy that finally gets them relief and returns them to the things that are most important to them.

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

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of modalities in Lemay, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, yoga, and consistent 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 Lemay area for a free screening to better understand what might be causing your chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. How often do you have pain? When does it come on? When does it get 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 customized treatment plan aimed at getting you back a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible movement health relieves pain and enhances your daily life by allowing your body to function 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 Lemay, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good hormone, which not only alleviates pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A professional Lemay, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be performed 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 involves therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Lemay, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely put pressure on your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either treatment method used alone.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is similar to 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 increasingly more Lemay, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate irritated soft 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 delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and awakens 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 do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Lemay, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement techniques, as well as healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in Lemay, MO include:

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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Lemay, MO, our objectives are simple: to deliver positive patient outcomes and help our patients get back to the activities they love. Whether you miss being able to run across the pickleball court like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Lemay, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.