Chronic Pain Treatment in O’Fallon, MO

Chronic pain treatment in O’Fallon, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating effect it can have on your life. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we lose sight of how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic tasks like doing household chores, or the activities we love best, whether that be sprinting down the court or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical therapy and rehabilitation centers devoted to helping our O’Fallon, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized chronic pain treatment plans, based on techniques that have been proven to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, reach out to the location nearest you or contact us online for effective 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 takes most people and conditions to heal. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can be localized or hit different body parts, and can be anything from stiffness to stinging pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of adults nationwide had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those with chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, which is persistent pain 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 reduces quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. In most cases, pain is due to trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a discernible, root cause such as burns, cuts, broken bones, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a moment to several weeks.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. 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 a medical condition, 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 and other diseases 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.
• Numerous different conditions that cause lower 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 push up against other parts inside your body.
• Fibromyalgia — While experts are still trying to understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, 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 read our tips for easing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many of our O’Fallon, MO patients have felt like they tried everything and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to a pain-free daily life.

Why Is Physical Therapy in O’Fallon, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of methods in O’Fallon, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic care, yoga, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can visit any Axes location in the O’Fallon area 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 is limiting you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll work in tandem with you and your physician to design a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at returning you to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible mobility eases pain and enhances your daily life by allowing your body to work better, and interrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, your age, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in O’Fallon, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only alleviates pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed O’Fallon, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With guided exercise, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions without pain, restoring your brain’s trust in the rest of your body. 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 promote healing and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your O’Fallon, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently move your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specialized tools, like HawkGrips®, 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 treatment method that more and more O’Fallon, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in inflamed muscles and connective tissue. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself and encourages the flow of nutrients to the region.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes on the skin near where you are experiencing pain. It delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that block the transmission of pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to cope with it can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in O’Fallon, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement practices, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other services we offer in O’Fallon, 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 O’Fallon, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in O’Fallon, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive client outcomes and help people get back to the activities they love. Whether you miss being able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in O’Fallon, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.