Chronic Pain Treatment in Town and Country, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Town and Country, MO. Anyone who has suffered from chronic pain knows the debilitating consequences it can have on your life. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we forget what it feels like to live a pain-free life. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic activities like walking up the stairs, or the things we love most, whether that be dominating your local softball league or being able to properly look after your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of 15 physical and occupational therapy centers dedicated to helping our Town and Country, MO patients find lasting relief through customized chronic pain treatment plans, based on techniques that have been demonstrated to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call the location nearest you or contact us online 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 radiate through your body, and can be anything from aching to stinging pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of U.S. adults suffered from 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 enjoy other activities. Anyone who suffers from frequent pain symptoms will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain reduces quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

Why Do People Experience Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal through your spinal cord up to your brain. Often, pain is caused by trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, root 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, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain after the tissue is repaired . In other cases, 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 diseases that cause joint pain — The cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in our joints can become damaged or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing joint pain.
• Numerous different conditions that lead to lower back pain — Up to 84% of adults will deal with back pain eventually. 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 lead to pain when they grow and touch other parts inside your body.
• Fibromyalgia — While experts are still trying to understand the exact cause of fibromyalgia, this refers to pain that affects your muscles and joints throughout your body.
• Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — In some cases, pain does not occur for a physical reason, but because there is dysfunction in the nervous system, or because of depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

There are many tips for easing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many of our Town and Country, MO patients have felt like they tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to the activities they love.

Why Is Physical Therapy in Town and Country, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Town and Country, MO, including medication, chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to come to 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? When does it come on? When does it get better? How is limiting you in your daily life? From there, we’ll form a team with you and your physician to come up with a customized treatment plan aimed at getting you back to the activities you love most.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you reach optimal movement health relieves pain and enhances your daily life by making your body work better, and disrupting certain nerves from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Town and Country, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only eases pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety related to your pain. A professional Town and Country, MO physical therapist can guide through exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With these exercises, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions 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 incorporates therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Town and Country, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently manipulate soft tissue. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective 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 Astym®.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that more and more Town and Country, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate damaged muscles and connective tissue. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and stimulates the flow of blood to the affected body part.

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 prevent your brain from receiving pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Town and Country, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Town and Country, MO include:

• Physical Therapy Clinic
• 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

Call Axes Physical Therapy For Your Chronic Pain Treatment in Town and Country, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Town and Country, MO, our objectives are clear: to deliver positive patient outcomes and help our patients get back to the activities they love. Whether you miss being able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Town and Country, MO today or make an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.