Chronic Pain Treatment in Sunset Hills, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Sunset Hills, MO. Anyone who has had to deal with chronic pain knows how limiting it can be. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it causes us to lose sight of 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 best, whether that be dominating your local pickleball league or playing with your kids.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy locations dedicated to helping our Sunset Hills, 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, call the location most convenient for you you or contact us online for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 3-6 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 hit different muscles or joints, and can range from dull soreness to searing, intense pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide had 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 affects how somebody can work or enjoy other activities. Anyone who suffers from pain frequently will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain affects 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 perceive damaged tissue, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. In most cases, pain is caused by trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as an injury, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a moment to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. 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 occurs as our bodies wear down as we age. 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 cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in our joints can become damaged or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
• A variety of conditions that cause low 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 work, sciatica, or disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they grow and touch other parts inside your body.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, this refers to pain that affects your muscles and joints throughout your body.
• 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 mental health issues or your personal history.

You can read our tips for managing chronic pain, and while many are effective, many of our Sunset Hills, MO patients tell us that they have 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.

Why Is Physical Therapy in Sunset Hills, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of methods in Sunset Hills, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, and consistent exercise. Studies show that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You are welcome to visit any Axes location in the Sunset Hills 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? When does it come on? When does it get better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll work in concert with you and your physician to develop a personalized course of treatment aimed at returning you a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible movement health eases pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to function better, and disrupting 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 Sunset Hills, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only alleviates pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed Sunset Hills, MO physical therapist can guide through exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more 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 involves therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Sunset Hills, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is better at treating pain than either technique used alone.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that is becoming more popular among Sunset Hills, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as it encourages the body to start to heal itself and stimulates the flow of blood to the affected body part.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes over the body part that’s causing you pain. It sends low-voltage electrical currents to release endorphins and awakens nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a considerable positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Sunset Hills, MO. We’ll help you learn the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other conditions we treat in Sunset Hills, MO include:

• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
• Sciatica Treatment
• 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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Sunset Hills, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive patient outcomes and help people return to to the things they love doing most. Whether you miss being 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 Sunset Hills, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.