Chronic Pain Treatment Sappington, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Sappington, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Sappington, 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 lose sight of what it feels like to live a pain-free life. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing daily activities like walking up the stairs, or the activities we love most, whether that be sprinting down the court or picking up your kids.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of provider-owned physical therapy treatment centers dedicated to helping our Sappington, MO patients find meaningful relief through personalized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call the location nearest you or request an appointment for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

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 radiate through your body, and can be anything from stiffness to burning pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of American adults 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 impacts quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also cause significant mental health issues and trouble sleeping.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal through your spinal cord up to your brain. Often, pain is due to trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a discernible, root cause such as stubbing your toe, 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. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts after the tissue is repaired . In other cases, it’s caused by an illness, or degenerative disease. 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 soft tissue in our joints can become damaged or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
Numerous different conditions that lead to low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at work, 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 check out our tips for relieving chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many of our Sappington, MO patients have felt like they tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to a pain-free daily life.

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

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Sappington, MO, including medication, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, massage therapy, and regular exercise. Studies show that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You can come to any Axes location in the Sappington 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? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll work in tandem with you and your physician to design a personalized 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. Helping you achieve optimal movement health eases pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to function better, and interrupting 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 Sappington, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only alleviates pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed Sappington, MO physical therapist can guide through 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 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 Sappington, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely move your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective than either technique used alone.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specialized 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 technique that is becoming more popular among Sappington, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in irritated muscles and connective tissue. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself and encourages the nutrient-rich blood flow to the affected body part.

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 awakens nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain signals.

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 Sappington, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement techniques, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Sappington, MO include:

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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Sappington, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive patient outcomes and help our patients 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 without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Sappington, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.