Chronic Pain Treatment in Twin Oaks, MO
Chronic pain treatment in Twin Oaks, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating consequences it can have on your life. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it leads us to forget 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 doing household chores, or the things we love doing the most, whether that be flying down the field or being able to properly look after your grandchildren.
Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical therapy treatment centers dedicated to helping our Twin Oaks, MO patients find meaningful relief through personalized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, reach out to our location most convenient for you you or schedule an appointment for safe chronic pain treatment.
What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?
Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 12 weeks, which is how long it typically takes pain to go away after an injury, surgery, or illness. 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 searing, intense pain.
According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of adults nationwide had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those with chronic pain) suffered from “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” limits work or life 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 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. Often, pain is due to a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a known, underlying cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a moment to several weeks.
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 . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no perceptible 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 irritated or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
- Numerous different conditions that cause lower back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at a physically demanding job, sciatica, or disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
- Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they push up against bones, your spine, or other tissue.
- 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 psychological stress.
You can read our pointers for relieving chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many of our Twin Oaks, MO patients tell us that they have tried everything and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy is the treatment that finally gets them relief and returns them to the activities they love.
Why Is Physical Therapy in Twin Oaks, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?
Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of means in Twin Oaks, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, and regular exercise. Studies show that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can visit any Axes location in the Twin Oaks area for a free screening to learn why you might be suffering from 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 does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll work in tandem with you and your physician to come up with a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at getting you back a pain-free daily life.
Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of optimal mobility eases pain and enhances your daily life by allowing your body to 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 your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Twin Oaks, MO may include:
Guided Exercise
Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but helps with any psychological stress you feel because of your pain. A qualified Twin Oaks, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be carried out without pain, rebuilding how your brain processes messages. We’ll also show you light exercises you can do outside of our sessions.
Manual Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization
Manual therapy incorporates therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Twin Oaks, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely move your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.
With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specialized tools, like HawkGrips®, instead of their hands, to smooth out tissue and pinpoint degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.
Dry Needling
Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that is becoming more popular among Twin Oaks, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in irritated muscles and connective tissue. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself and encourages the nutrient-rich blood flow to the affected body part.
Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)
TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. It sends low-level electrical currents to release endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that block the transmission of 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 Twin Oaks, MO. We’ll help you learn the best way to sit, stand, and move, as well as healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.
Other services we offer in Twin Oaks, 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 Twin Oaks, MO
At Axes Physical Therapy in Twin Oaks, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive client outcomes and help people 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 walk up the stairs without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Twin Oaks, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.