Chronic Pain Treatment Parkdale, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Parkdale, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Parkdale, MO. Anyone who has lived with chronic pain knows the debilitating consequences it can have on your life. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it causes us to forget 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 things we love doing the most, whether that be sprinting down the field or working in the garden.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical and occupational therapy centers committed to helping our Parkdale, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through custom-tailored and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, reach out to the location nearest you or contact us online for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after 12 weeks, which is how long it typically takes pain to go away after an injury, surgery, or illness. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or radiate through your body, and can be anything from dull soreness to burning pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those who experienced chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” affects how somebody can work or perform other activities. Anyone who suffers from pain frequently will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and trouble sleeping.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is caused by a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as falling, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a moment to several weeks.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily known. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain after the tissue is repaired . Other times, it’s caused by a medical condition, or happens as our bodies weaken with 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 damaged or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
A variety of conditions that cause low back pain — Up to 84% of adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at a physically demanding job, sciatica, or disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
Cancer pain — Tumors can cause 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 pain that affects your muscles and joints throughout your body.
Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — Sometimes, there is no underlying musculoskeletal cause, but because there is an issue in the nervous system, or because of mental health issues or your personal history.

You can read our tips for easing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Parkdale, MO tell us that they have tried all of them and more 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.

Chronic Pain Treatment Parkdale, MO | Pain Management | Physical Therapist Near Parkdale

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Parkdale, MO, including medication, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, massage, and regular exercise. Studies show that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You are welcome to visit any Axes location in the Parkdale area for a free screening to better understand what might be causing your 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? After your screening, we’ll form a team with you and your physician to come up with a customized treatment plan aimed at getting you back 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 disrupting certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Parkdale, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only alleviates pain but helps with any psychological stress related to your pain. A professional Parkdale, 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, restoring your brain’s trust in the rest of your body. 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 muscles and joints. Your Parkdale, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective than either treatment method used alone.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that more and more Parkdale, 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, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the nutrient-rich blood flow 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 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 Parkdale, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement techniques, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other conditions we treat in Parkdale, MO include:

Chronic Pain Treatment Parkdale, MO | Physical Therapy | Pain Management Near Parkdale

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Parkdale, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive patient experiences and help our patients get back to the activities they love. Whether you want to be able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Parkdale, MO today or make an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.