Chronic Pain Treatment Park Hills, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Park Hills, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Park Hills, MO. Anyone who has lived with chronic pain knows how hard it is to express the effects it has on your daily life. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we forget how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily tasks like carrying in groceries, or the activities we love most, whether that be flying down the court or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy centers dedicated to helping our Park Hills, MO patients find meaningful relief through customized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. To get back to the activities you love most, reach out to the location most convenient for you 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 12 weeks, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can be localized or hit different body parts, and can change in severity from dull soreness to agonizing pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those with chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” affects how somebody can work or perform other activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain affects quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is caused by trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a known, underlying 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 after the tissue is repaired . 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 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.
Numerous different conditions that cause lower back pain — Up to 84% of adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at a physically demanding job, 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, pain does not occur for a physical reason, but rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

You can read our tips for managing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Park Hills, MO tell us that they have 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.

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Why Is Physical Therapy in Park Hills, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Park Hills, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, yoga, and consistent exercise. Studies show that including physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to considerable improvement. You are welcome to come to any Axes location in the Park Hills area 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. How often do you have pain? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? From there, we’ll work in tandem with you and your physician to design a customized treatment plan aimed at returning you a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible movement health eases pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to work better, and breaking up any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Park Hills, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good hormone, which not only reduces pain but helps with related symptoms like stress and depression. A qualified Park Hills, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further 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 involves therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Park Hills, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either treatment method used alone.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specially designed tools, like Astym®, instead of their hands, to smooth out tissue 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 Park Hills, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged soft tissue. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself and encourages the nutrient-rich blood flow to the region.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes over the body part that’s causing you pain. It delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a considerable positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Park Hills, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement practices, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other services we offer in Park Hills, MO include:

Chronic Pain Treatment Park Hills, MO | Physical Therapy | Pain Management Near Park Hills

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Park Hills, MO, our goals are clear: to deliver positive client experiences and help people return to to their best life. Whether you want to be able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Park Hills, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.