Chronic Pain Treatment in Old Jamestown, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Old Jamestown, MO. Anyone who has lived with chronic pain knows the debilitating effect it can have on your life. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we forget how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing daily activities like walking up the stairs, or the activities we love best, whether that be dominating your local pickleball league or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical and occupational therapy centers devoted to helping our Old Jamestown, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call the location nearest you or request an appointment 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 takes most people and conditions to heal. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can be localized or radiate through your body, and can range from stiffness to stinging pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those with chronic pain) had “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 affects quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and trouble sleeping.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, 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 at once, usually because of a discernible, root cause such as falling, dental work, or surgery. It can last 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 even after it’s healed . In other cases, it’s caused by a medical condition, or occurs 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 cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in our joints can become inflamed or wear down over time or due to an injury, 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, 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 push up against bones, your spine, or other tissue.
• Fibromyalgia — While experts are still trying to understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, this refers to pain that affects your muscles and joints throughout your body.
• Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — Sometimes, 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 read our pointers for easing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many of our Old Jamestown, MO patients tell us that they have tried everything and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to the activities they love.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of modalities in Old Jamestown, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic care, yoga, and regular exercise. Studies show that including physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to come to any of our 15 locations for a free screening to better understand what might be causing your chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. 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 work in concert with you and your doctor to develop a customized 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 relieves pain and improves your quality of life by making your body function better, and breaking up any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Old Jamestown, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only eases pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed Old Jamestown, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With these exercises, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions without pain, restoring how your brain processes messages. We’ll also show you light exercises you can do outside of our sessions.

Manual Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization

Manual therapy incorporates therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Old Jamestown, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely put pressure on soft tissue. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective than either technique used by itself.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that is becoming more popular among Old Jamestown, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate irritated muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. This eases pain as it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and stimulates the nutrient-rich blood flow to the affected area.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. It delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and awakens nerve cells that prevent your brain from receiving pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to cope with it can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Old Jamestown, MO. We’ll help you learn the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in Old Jamestown, MO include:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Old Jamestown, MO, our goals are simple: to deliver positive patient experiences and help our patients return to 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 carry the groceries in without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Old Jamestown, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.