Chronic Pain Treatment in Town and Country, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Town and Country, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how hard it is to express how much it limits you. For some of us, 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 carrying in groceries, or the things we love most, whether that be flying down the court or playing with your grandchildren.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy locations committed to helping our Town and Country, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. To get back to the activities you love most, call the location most convenient for you you or contact us online for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can be constant or can come and go, can stay in one spot or hit different body parts, and can change in severity from aching to searing, intense pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of adults nationwide suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those who experienced chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” affects how somebody can work or perform other activities. Anyone who suffers from pain frequently will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also cause significant mental health issues and insomnia.

What’s Behind Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. Often, pain is caused by an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, underlying cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily known. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts even after it’s healed . In other cases, it’s caused by an illness, or happens as our bodies weaken with age. Sometimes, there is no perceptible 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 damaged or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing joint pain.
• Numerous different conditions that lead to low back pain — Up to 84% of adults will deal with 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 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 an issue in the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

There are many suggestions for relieving chronic pain, and while many are effective, many people we see in Town and Country, MO have felt like they tried all of them and more and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy is the strategy 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 modalities in Town and Country, MO, including medication, chiropractic care, massage, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can come to any of our 15 locations for a free screening to learn why you might be experiencing chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. How often do you have pain? Does anything make it better or worse? How is limiting you in your daily life? From there, we’ll form a team with you and your doctor to develop a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at returning you to the things you love most.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by stretching and strengthening your body. Helping you reach optimal movement health eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and breaking up any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, your age, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Town and Country, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only reduces pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A professional Town and Country, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further pain or injury. With these exercises, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions without pain, rebuilding your brain’s trust in the rest of your body. 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 muscles and joints. Your Town and Country, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either treatment method 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 technique that more and more Town and Country, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate irritated muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the flow of blood to the region.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes over the body part that’s causing you pain. It sends low-level electrical currents to release endorphins and awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain messages.

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, as well as healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in Town and Country, MO include:

• Beginner Running Program
• Spine Specialist Near Me
• MCL Injury
• Shoulder Pain
• Injury Prevention
• Mobility
• Knee Injury
• Joint Pain
• Sciatica

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 client experiences and help people return to to the activities they love. Whether you want to be able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Town and Country, MO today or schedule an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.