Chronic Pain Treatment in St. Louis, MO

Chronic pain treatment in St. Louis, 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 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 tasks like doing household chores, or the activities we love most, whether that be sprinting down the field or working in the garden.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical therapy and rehabilitation centers committed to helping our St. Louis, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through custom-tailored chronic pain treatment plans, based on techniques that have been demonstrated to work. To get back to a pain-free daily life, call the location nearest you or schedule 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 be constant or can come and go, can stay in one spot or hit different muscles or joints, and can range from aching to searing, intense 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) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, which is pain that occurs on more days than not that limits work or life activities. Anyone who suffers from frequent pain symptoms will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. 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, generally speaking, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is due to an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, root cause such as an injury, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts even after it’s healed . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no observable 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 over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• 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, repetitive motions at a job that requires physical exertion, sciatica, or disc injuries that affect the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they bother other parts inside your body.
• Fibromyalgia — While experts are still trying to understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, this refers to pain you feel in your muscles all over your body.
• 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.

You can check out our suggestions for relieving chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in St. Louis, MO have felt like they 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.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in St. Louis, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic adjustments, massage, and consistent exercise. Studies show that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can come to any Axes location in the St. Louis area for a free screening to better understand 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? 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 doctor to design a tailor-made treatment plan aimed at returning you a comfortable daily life.

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 improves your quality of life by making your body function better, and disrupting certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, how old you are, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in St. Louis, 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 eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed St. Louis, MO physical therapist can guide through 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, 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 involves therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your St. Louis, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate soft tissue. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective than either technique used by itself.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is similar to 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 treatment method that is becoming more popular among St. Louis, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate irritated soft tissue. This eases pain as it encourages the body to start to heal itself and stimulates the flow of nutrients 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 signals.

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 St. Louis, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement practices, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

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

• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment
• Rotator Cuff Tear Treatment
• Running Injury

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in St. Louis, MO, our objectives are simple: to achieve positive client experiences and help our patients get back to the things they love doing most. Whether you miss being 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. Louis, MO today or schedule an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.