Chronic Pain Treatment in Villa Ridge, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Villa Ridge, MO. Anyone who has had to deal with chronic pain knows how limiting it can be. For some of us, 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 performing basic activities like walking up the stairs, or the activities we love best, whether that be dominating your local pick-up league or playing with your grandchildren.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical therapy and rehabilitation locations dedicated to helping our Villa Ridge, MO patients find meaningful relief through custom-tailored chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. To get back to a pain-free daily life, reach out to our location most convenient for you you or contact us online for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than 3-6 months, 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 range from aching to searing, intense pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of U.S. adults had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those with 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. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain impacts quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Why Do People Experience Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. In most cases, pain is due to a specific incident or illness. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a known, root cause such as an injury, 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 despite the fact that, structurally, it has healed . In other cases, it’s caused by a medical condition, or happens as our bodies wear down as we age. Sometimes, there is no discernible 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 inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing joint pain.
• Numerous different conditions that cause low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 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 a variety of disc injuries.
• 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 widespread muscle pain and tenderness.
• Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — Sometimes, there is no underlying musculoskeletal cause, but rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of mental health issues or your personal history.

There are many pointers for relieving chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many of our Villa Ridge, MO patients tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward meaningful pain relief and getting back to the activities they love.

Why Is Physical Therapy in Villa Ridge, MO a Great Option For Chronic Pain Treatment?

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Villa Ridge, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic care, massage, and regular exercise. Studies show that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can visit any Axes location in the Villa Ridge area for a free screening to learn 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? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll form a team with you and your physician to develop a tailor-made course of treatment aimed at returning you a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by stretching and strengthening your body. Collectively improving those aspects of the best possible movement health relieves pain and improves your quality of life by making your body function better, and breaking up certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Villa Ridge, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise increases 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 qualified Villa Ridge, MO physical therapist can help you perform exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing more pain or injury. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be performed without pain, restoring your brain’s trust in the rest of your body. We’ll also show you light exercises you can do outside of our sessions.

Manual Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization

Manual therapy involves therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Villa Ridge, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on soft tissue. Research demonstrates that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective than either technique used alone.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specially designed tools, like Graston®, instead of their hands, to smooth out tissue and identify degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new technique that more and more Villa Ridge, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in irritated muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. This eases pain as it encourages the body to start to heal itself and stimulates the nutrient-rich blood flow to the affected area.

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 stop your brain from receiving pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Villa Ridge, MO. We’ll teach you the best way to sit, stand, and move, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other services we offer in Villa Ridge, 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 Villa Ridge, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Villa Ridge, MO, our goals are simple: to achieve positive patient experiences 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 carry the groceries in pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Villa Ridge, MO today or make an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.