Chronic Pain Treatment Mechanicsville, MO | Physical Therapists Near Mechanicsville

Chronic Pain Treatment in Mechanicsville, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Mechanicsville, MO. Anyone who has lived with chronic pain knows how limiting it can be. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it leads us to forget how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily activities like walking up the stairs, or the things we love most, whether that be dominating your local pickleball league or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical therapy treatment centers devoted to helping our Mechanicsville, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through personalized 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 contact us online for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after 12 weeks, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can be localized or hit different muscles or joints, and can change in severity from dull soreness to burning pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 one out of five adults nationwide had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those with chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” affects how somebody can work or perform other activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

What’s Behind Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. In most cases, pain is caused by an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a known, root cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily known. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain after the tissue is repaired . 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 inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
Numerous different conditions that lead to low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at a physically demanding job, sciatica, or disc injuries that affect the nerves in the spinal column.
Cancer pain — Tumors can cause 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 mental health issues or your personal history.

You can check out our tips for managing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many of our Mechanicsville, MO patients tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to the things that are most important to them.

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

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Mechanicsville, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic care, massage, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You are welcome to come to any of our 15 locations for a free screening to learn 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? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? From there, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to design a personalized course of treatment aimed at getting you back a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of optimal movement health relieves pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to work better, and disrupting certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Mechanicsville, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety you feel because of your pain. A professional Mechanicsville, MO physical therapist can guide through exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further pain or injury. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be performed 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 encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Mechanicsville, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate 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 specially designed tools, like Graston®, 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 tool that increasingly more Mechanicsville, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in irritated muscles and connective tissue. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and stimulates the nutrient-rich blood flow 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 sends low-level electrical currents to release endorphins and awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Mechanicsville, 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 Mechanicsville, MO include:

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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Mechanicsville, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve 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 get out of bed in the morning without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Mechanicsville, MO today or make an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.

Mechanicsville, MO