Chronic Pain Treatment in St. Peters, MO

Chronic pain treatment in St. Peters, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well 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 daily activities like doing household chores, or the activities we love doing the most, whether that be dominating your local softball league or being able to properly look after your kids.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy locations dedicated to helping our St. Peters, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through custom-tailored and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to a pain-free daily life, reach out to the location most convenient for you you or contact us online for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 12 weeks, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or hit different muscles or joints, and can be anything from aching to agonizing pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of adults nationwide dealt with chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those who experienced chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” affects how somebody can work or perform 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 lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

Why Do People Experience 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. In most cases, pain is due to a specific incident or illness. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a known, underlying cause such as being hit with something, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily identifiable. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no discernible cause for someone’s chronic pain. Common types and causes of chronic pain include:

• Arthritis and other conditions that cause joint pain — The soft tissue in our joints can become inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
• 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, repetitive motions at a job that requires physical exertion, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they push up against bones, your spine, or other tissue.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, 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 tips for managing chronic pain, and while many are effective, many of our St. Peters, MO patients tell us that they have tried everything and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy is the strategy that finally gets them relief and returns them to a pain-free daily life.

Why Is Physical Therapy in St. Peters, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in St. Peters, MO, including medication, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, yoga, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can visit any of our 15 locations for a free screening to better understand what might be causing your chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to come up with a customized treatment plan aimed at returning you to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you reach the best possible mobility relieves pain and enhances your daily life by allowing your body to work better, and disrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, how old you are, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in St. Peters, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only alleviates pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety you feel because of your pain. A licensed St. Peters, MO physical therapist will lead you through exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further pain or injury. With guided exercise, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be carried out 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 encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your St. Peters, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely manipulate soft tissue. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either technique used alone.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that is becoming more popular among St. Peters, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate damaged muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. 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 awakens nerve cells that prevent your brain from receiving pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to cope with it can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in St. Peters, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement techniques, as well as healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other services we offer in St. Peters, 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. Peters, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in St. Peters, MO, our objectives are clear: to achieve positive client outcomes and help people get back to their best life. Whether you want to be able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to get out of bed in the morning pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in St. Peters, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.