Chronic Pain Treatment in New Haven, MO

Chronic pain treatment in New Haven, MO. Anyone who has lived with chronic pain knows the debilitating effect it can have on your life. For some of us, 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 tasks like walking up the stairs, or the things we love best, whether that be sprinting down the field or picking up your grandchildren.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy locations dedicated to helping our New Haven, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to the activities you love most, call the location nearest you or contact us online for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, which is how long it takes most people and conditions to heal. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can be localized or hit different muscles or joints, and can be anything from aching to agonizing pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five adults nationwide 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,” 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 significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

What’s Behind Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is due to a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, 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 several weeks.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily known. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or occurs as our bodies wear down as we age. Sometimes, there is no perceptible cause for someone’s chronic pain. Common types and causes of chronic pain include:

• Arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, and other conditions that cause joint pain — The cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in our joints can become inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
• A variety of conditions that cause low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults will deal with back pain eventually. 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 lead to pain when they bother bones, your spine, or other tissue.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, 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 depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

You can check out our pointers for relieving chronic pain, and while many are effective, many of our New Haven, MO patients have felt like they tried everything and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward meaningful pain relief and getting back to the things that are most important to them.

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in New Haven, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic adjustments, massage, and regular exercise. Studies show that including physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to considerable improvement. You are welcome to visit any Axes location in the New Haven area for a free screening to better understand why you might be suffering from chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. How often do you have pain? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How is limiting you in your daily life? From there, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to come up with a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at getting you back to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to 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 New Haven, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only eases pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety you feel because of your pain. A qualified New Haven, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With guided exercise, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be achieved 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 New Haven, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely manipulate your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective than either technique used alone.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is similar to manual therapy, except that instead of their hands, physical therapists use specialized tools like HawkGrips®.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that increasingly more New Haven, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate damaged muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as it encourages the body to start to heal itself and encourages the flow of nutrients to the affected area.

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 stimulates 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 New Haven, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement techniques, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in New Haven, MO include:

• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment
• Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment
• Running Injury

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in New Haven, MO, our goals are clear: to achieve positive patient outcomes and help our patients get back to their best life. Whether you want to be able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in New Haven, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.