Chronic Pain Treatment in Shrewsbury, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Shrewsbury, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how limiting it can be. For some of us, it goes on so long that we forget what it feels like to live a pain-free life. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily tasks like carrying in groceries, or the things we love doing the most, whether that be flying down the field or working in the garden.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy centers devoted to helping our Shrewsbury, 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 our location nearest you or contact us online for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can be localized or hit different body parts, and can be anything from stiffness to burning pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide dealt with chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those with chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, which is pain that occurs on more days than not that 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 significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. In most cases, pain is due to a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a known, underlying cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. It can last 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 despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . Other times, it’s caused by a medical condition, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no observable cause for someone’s chronic pain. Common types and causes of chronic pain include:

• Arthritis, bursitis, tendinitis, and other conditions that cause joint pain — The soft tissue in our joints can become irritated or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• 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, wear and tear at a job that requires physical exertion, sciatica, or disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they push up against tissue, nerves, or organs.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, this refers to widespread muscle pain and tenderness.
• Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — In some cases, there is no underlying musculoskeletal cause, but because there is dysfunction in the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

You can read our pointers for relieving chronic pain, and while many are effective, many of our Shrewsbury, MO patients have felt like they tried everything and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to a pain-free daily life.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of methods in Shrewsbury, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and consistent exercise. Studies show that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can visit any of our 15 locations for a free screening to learn why you might be experiencing chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? When does it come on? When does it get better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll work in tandem with you and your doctor to design a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at getting you back to the things 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 movement health eases pain and enhances your daily life by making your body function better, and breaking up any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Shrewsbury, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only alleviates pain but helps with any psychological stress caused by your pain. A qualified Shrewsbury, MO physical therapist can 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, rebuilding 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 incorporates therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Shrewsbury, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely move soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is a form of manual therapy, except that instead of their hands, physical therapists use specialized tools like HawkGrips®.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that increasingly more Shrewsbury, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate irritated 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 over the body part that’s causing you 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 significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Shrewsbury, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, as well as healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in Shrewsbury, MO include:

• 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
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Shrewsbury, MO, our goals are simple: to achieve positive patient outcomes and help people return to to the things they love doing most. Whether you want to be able to run across the pickleball court like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Shrewsbury, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.