Chronic Pain Treatment in Union, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Union, 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 leads us to forget how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic activities like doing household chores, or the activities we love best, whether that be dominating your local softball league or working in the garden.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy centers committed to helping our Union, MO patients find lasting relief through personalized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call our location most convenient for you you or contact us online for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 3-6 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 radiate through your body, and can change in severity from aching to burning pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five adults nationwide had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% 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 reduces quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is due to an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, usually because of a known, underlying cause such as burns, cuts, broken bones, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain even after it’s healed . Other times, it’s caused by a medical condition, or happens as our bodies weaken with age. 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 cartilage, tendons, and ligaments in our joints can become damaged or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• Numerous different conditions that cause 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 disc injuries that impinge on the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to pain when they push up against 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 rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

There are many pointers for relieving chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Union, MO 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 Union, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Union, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, and regular exercise. Research demonstrates that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to come to any Axes location in the Union area for a free screening to better understand 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 concert with you and your doctor to develop a customized treatment plan aimed at getting you back a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Helping you reach optimal mobility eases pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to work better, and interrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Union, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only reduces pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety you feel because of your pain. A professional Union, MO physical therapist will guide through exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With guided exercise, 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 incorporates therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Union, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either technique used by itself.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specially designed tools, like Astym®, instead of their hands, to improve tissue alignment and pinpoint degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that increasingly more Union, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate irritated muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as it encourages the body to start to heal itself and stimulates the flow of nutrients to the affected area.

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 stimulates nerve cells that block the transmission of pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a considerable positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Union, MO. We’ll help you learn appropriate posture and movement practices, in addition to healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in Union, 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 Union, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Union, 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 hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to get out of bed in the morning without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Union, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.