Chronic Pain Treatment in Murphy, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Murphy, MO. Anyone who has had to deal with chronic pain knows how hard it is to express how much it limits you. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it causes us to lose sight of what it feels like to live a pain-free life. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing basic activities like carrying in groceries, or the things we love best, whether that be flying down the court or picking up your grandchildren.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical therapy and rehabilitation centers dedicated to helping our Murphy, MO patients find lasting relief through customized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call the location nearest you or contact us online for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after 3-6 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 muscles or joints, and can range from aching to burning pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of U.S. adults dealt with chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those who experienced chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” limits work or life activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also cause significant mental health issues and trouble sleeping.

What Causes 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 a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a discernible, root cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. It can last for anywhere from a few minutes to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. 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 weaken with age. 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 soft tissue in our joints can become inflamed or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• Numerous different 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 lead to pain when they grow and touch 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 — In some cases, there is no underlying musculoskeletal cause, but because there is dysfunction in the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

You can check out our pointers for managing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many of our Murphy, MO patients have felt like they 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 a pain-free daily life.

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Murphy, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic adjustments, massage, and consistent exercise. Studies show that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to considerable improvement. You can come to any of our 15 locations for a free screening to learn what might be causing your chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. 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 form a team with you and your doctor to design a personalized treatment plan aimed at returning you to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and flexibility. Helping you achieve the best possible mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and disrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. 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 Murphy, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only reduces pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A qualified Murphy, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. 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 involves therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Murphy, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective than either technique used alone.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specially designed tools, like Astym®, instead of their hands, to improve tissue alignment and pinpoint degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new technique that is becoming more popular among Murphy, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate damaged muscles and connective tissue. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself and encourages 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-level electrical currents to release endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that prevent your brain from receiving pain messages.

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 Murphy, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, as well as healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Murphy, MO include:

• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Murphy, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to deliver positive patient outcomes and help people return to 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 Murphy, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.