Chronic Pain Treatment St. George, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in St. George, MO

Chronic pain treatment in St. George, MO. Anyone who has had to deal with chronic pain knows how limiting it can be. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we forget how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic activities like carrying in groceries, or the things we love most, whether that be flying down the field or picking up your kids.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy centers committed to helping our St. George, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been demonstrated to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, reach out to our location nearest you or make an appointment for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, 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 aching to stinging pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of 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,” affects how somebody can work or enjoy other activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and trouble sleeping.

Why Do People Experience Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. Often, pain is due to an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as burns, cuts, broken bones, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a moment to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily known. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts 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, there is no perceptible cause for someone’s chronic pain. 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 inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
Numerous different conditions that lead to lower back pain — Up to 84% of adults suffer from back pain eventually. 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 bother bones, your spine, or other tissue.
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 an issue in the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

There are many tips for managing chronic pain, and while many are effective, many people we see in St. George, MO have felt like they tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to the activities they love.

Chronic Pain Treatment St. George, MO | Pain Management | Physical Therapist Near St. George

How Do Physical Therapists in St. George, MO Help With Chronic Pain Treatment?

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of methods in St. George, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, 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 considerable improvement. You can come to any of our 15 locations for a free screening to learn 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? Does anything make it better or worse? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll work in concert with you and your doctor to come up with a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at returning you a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Helping you achieve optimal movement health eases pain and enhances your daily life by making your body work better, and breaking up certain nerves from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in St. George, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only alleviates pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety you feel because of your pain. A licensed St. George, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With guided exercise, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be performed without pain, rebuilding 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 involves therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your St. George, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely put pressure on soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that more and more St. George, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as 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 over the body part that’s causing you pain. It delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and awakens nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to cope with it can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in St. George, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement practices, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in St. George, MO include:

Chronic Pain Treatment St. George, MO | Physical Therapy | Pain Management Near St. George

Call Axes Physical Therapy For Your Chronic Pain Treatment in St. George, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in St. George, MO, our goals are clear: to deliver positive client outcomes and help people 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 carry the groceries in without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in St. George, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.