Chronic Pain Treatment in Preston Woods, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Preston Woods, MO. Anyone who has suffered from chronic pain knows how hard it is to express how much it limits you. For some of us, 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 walking up the stairs, or the activities we love doing the most, whether that be flying down the court or playing with your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical therapy and rehabilitation centers dedicated to helping our Preston Woods, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to the activities you love most, reach out to the location nearest you or request an appointment for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 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 muscles or joints, and can range from aching to agonizing pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five adults nationwide suffered from 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.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damaged tissue, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. Often, pain is caused by trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a discernible, root cause such as burns, cuts, broken bones, 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 identifiable. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . In other cases, 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 and other diseases that cause joint pain — The soft tissue in our joints can become inflamed or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• A variety of conditions that lead to low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults will deal with back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at work, sciatica, or disc injuries that affect the nerves in the spinal column.
• 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 because there is an issue in the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

You can check out our suggestions for relieving chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Preston Woods, MO tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward meaningful pain relief and getting back to a pain-free daily life.

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Preston Woods, MO, including medication, chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and consistent exercise. Studies show that including physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to considerable improvement. You can visit any Axes location in the Preston Woods area for a free screening to better understand why you might be suffering from 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 does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll work in concert with you and your doctor to design a personalized course of treatment aimed at getting you back to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and flexibility. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible movement health relieves pain and improves your quality of life by making your body function better, and interrupting certain body parts 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 Preston Woods, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good hormone, which not only alleviates pain but helps with any psychological stress caused by your pain. A professional Preston Woods, 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 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 Preston Woods, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely put pressure on your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective than either treatment method used by itself.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specialized tools, like Graston®, 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 technique that is becoming more popular among Preston Woods, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and stimulates 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 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 Preston Woods, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement techniques, as well as healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other services we offer in Preston Woods, MO include:

• Soft Tissue Mobilization
• Post Surgical Rehabilitation
• Shin Splint Treatment
• Direct Access Physical Therapy
• Gait Analysis
• Pelvic Floor Therapy
• Dry Needling Near Me
• Tendonitis Treatment
• Manual Physical Therapy
• Orthopedic Rehab Near Me

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Preston Woods, MO, our objectives are clear: to achieve positive patient experiences and help our patients return to 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 Preston Woods, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.