Chronic Pain Treatment St. George, MO | Physical Therapists Near St. George

Chronic Pain Treatment in St. George, MO

Chronic pain treatment in St. George, 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 causes us to forget what it feels like to live a pain-free life. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily activities like carrying in groceries, or the things we love best, whether that be flying down the court or working in the garden.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy locations committed to helping our St. George, MO patients find lasting relief through custom-tailored chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. To get back to a pain-free daily life, reach out to the location most convenient for you you or make an appointment for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after three months, which is how long it takes most people and conditions to heal. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or radiate through your body, and can be anything from aching to agonizing pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of adults nationwide suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those who experienced chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, which is persistent pain limits work or life activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain reduces quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

What’s Behind 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 a specific incident or illness. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, root cause such as an injury, dental work, or surgery. It can last for anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain even after it’s healed . In other cases, it’s caused by a medical condition, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no discernible 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 inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
A variety of conditions that cause 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 grow and touch bones, your spine, or other tissue.
Fibromyalgia — While experts are still trying to understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, this refers to widespread muscle pain and tenderness.
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 suggestions for easing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many people we see in St. George, MO tell us that they have tried everything and still can’t find relief. 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?

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in St. George, MO, including medication, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, massage, and consistent exercise. Studies show that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to come to any Axes location in the St. George area 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. 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 form a team with you and your physician to design a personalized treatment plan aimed at getting you back a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and disrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, 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 chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed St. George, MO physical therapist can lead you through exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With guided exercise, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be performed 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 St. George, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either treatment method used alone.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that is becoming more popular among St. George, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate inflamed muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the flow of nutrients to the affected area.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. It delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to cope with it can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in St. George, MO. We’ll help you learn the best way to sit, stand, and move, as well as healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer 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, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive client experiences and help our patients return to to the activities they love. Whether you want to be able to run across the pickleball court like you used to, or just want to get out of bed in the morning without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in St. George, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.