Chronic Pain Treatment Mehlville, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Mehlville, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Mehlville, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating consequences it can have on your life. 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 activities like carrying in groceries, or the activities we love most, whether that be dominating your local softball league or being able to properly look after your grandchildren.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical therapy treatment locations devoted to helping our Mehlville, MO patients find meaningful relief through personalized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to the activities you love most, call our location most convenient for you you or request 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 occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or radiate through your body, and can range from dull soreness to burning pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of American adults had 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. Anyone who suffers from pain frequently will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain reduces quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal through your spinal cord up to your brain. In most cases, pain is due to trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as falling, dental work, or surgery. It can last 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 . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or occurs as our bodies wear down as we 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 soft tissue in our joints can become irritated or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
Numerous different conditions that cause low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults will deal with back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at a job that requires physical exertion, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they bother bones, your spine, or other tissue.
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, pain does not occur for a physical reason, but because there is an issue in the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

You can read our pointers for easing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Mehlville, MO have felt like they tried everything 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 Mehlville, MO | Pain Management | Physical Therapist Near Mehlville

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Mehlville, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic adjustments, massage, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to considerable improvement. You can visit any Axes location in the Mehlville 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? Does anything make it better or worse? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? From there, we’ll work in tandem with you and your doctor to develop a tailor-made treatment plan aimed at returning you to the things you love most.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Collectively improving those aspects of optimal mobility 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 the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Mehlville, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety related to your pain. A professional Mehlville, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. 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. We’ll also show you light exercises you can do at home.

Manual Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization

Manual therapy involves therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Mehlville, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently move soft tissue. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either technique used by itself.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specialized 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 tool that more and more Mehlville, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate inflamed muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as it encourages the body to start to heal itself and stimulates the flow of blood to the affected area.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. It sends low-voltage electrical currents to release 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 Mehlville, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement practices, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Mehlville, MO include:

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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Mehlville, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to deliver positive client outcomes and help people get back to the things they love doing most. Whether you miss being 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 Mehlville, MO today or make an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.