Chronic Pain Treatment in Portage Des Sioux, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Portage Des Sioux, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating consequences it can have on your life. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it leads us to forget how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily tasks like doing household chores, or the things we love doing the most, whether that be flying down the court or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy locations dedicated to helping our Portage Des Sioux, MO patients find meaningful relief through personalized 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 make an appointment for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, which is how long it typically takes pain to go away after an injury, surgery, or illness. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can be localized or hit different body parts, and can change in severity from stiffness to agonizing pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide dealt with 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,” 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 reduces quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is due to an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a discernible, root cause such as falling, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain after the tissue is repaired . In other cases, it’s caused by an illness, 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 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 joint pain.
• Numerous different conditions that cause lower back pain — Up to 84% of adults will deal with 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 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 rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

You can check out our suggestions for easing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many of our Portage Des Sioux, MO patients tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to a pain-free daily life.

Why Is Physical Therapy in Portage Des Sioux, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Portage Des Sioux, MO, including medication, chiropractic care, massage, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that including physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can 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? When does it come on? When does it get better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? From there, we’ll work in concert with you and your physician to design a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at getting you back a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible movement health relieves pain and enhances your daily life by making your body work better, and disrupting certain nerves from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Portage Des Sioux, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but eases any psychological stress caused by your pain. A licensed Portage Des Sioux, 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. 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 involves therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Portage Des Sioux, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently move your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that more and more Portage Des Sioux, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate damaged muscles and connective tissue. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the flow of blood to the region.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes on the skin near where you are experiencing pain. It sends low-voltage electrical currents to release endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that block the transmission of pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Portage Des Sioux, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement practices, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other conditions we treat in Portage Des Sioux, 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 Portage Des Sioux, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Portage Des Sioux, MO, our objectives are clear: to achieve positive client outcomes and help people return to to the things they love doing most. Whether you miss being able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Portage Des Sioux, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.