Chronic Pain Treatment Warrenton, MO

Chronic Pain Treatment in Warrenton, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Warrenton, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how hard it is to express how much it limits you. Sometimes, the months or years we’ve dealt with it leads us to lose sight of how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing daily tasks like doing household chores, or the activities we love most, whether that be dominating your local pickleball league or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy locations dedicated to helping our Warrenton, MO patients find meaningful relief through custom-tailored and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, 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 12 weeks, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can be localized or radiate through your body, and can be anything from dull soreness to searing, intense pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 almost a quarter of adults nationwide dealt with 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 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, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damaged tissue, 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 discernible, root cause such as falling, dental work, or surgery. The pain lasts for anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily identifiable. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain even after it’s healed . Other times, it’s caused by an illness, or occurs 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, bursitis, tendinitis, and other conditions that cause joint pain — The soft tissue in our joints can become inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
A variety of conditions that cause lower back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain at some point in their lives. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at a job that requires physical exertion, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they bother bones, your spine, or other tissue.
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 — In some cases, pain does not occur for a physical reason, but because there is an issue in the nervous system, or because of depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

There are many pointers for managing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many of our Warrenton, MO patients 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.

Chronic Pain Treatment Warrenton, MO | Pain Management | Physical Therapist Near Warrenton

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of methods in Warrenton, MO, including medication, chiropractic adjustments, yoga, and consistent exercise. Research demonstrates that including physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to come to any Axes location in the Warrenton area for a free screening to learn why you might be suffering from chronic pain. We’ll ask you questions to better understand how we can help you. 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 work in tandem with you and your physician to come up with a customized course of treatment aimed at getting you back a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy helps by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you reach the best possible mobility relieves pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and disrupting 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 Warrenton, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only alleviates pain but eases related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed Warrenton, 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 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 involves therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Warrenton, 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 specialized tools, like Graston®, instead of their hands, to improve tissue alignment and locate degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that more and more Warrenton, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in damaged muscles and connective tissue. This eases pain as it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and stimulates the flow of nutrients to the region.

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 awakens nerve cells that block the transmission of pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding the cause of your pain and how to cope with it can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Warrenton, 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 Warrenton, MO include:

Chronic Pain Treatment Warrenton, MO | Physical Therapy | Pain Management Near Warrenton

Call Axes Physical Therapy For Your Chronic Pain Treatment in Warrenton, MO

At Axes Physical Therapy in Warrenton, MO, our goals are simple: to achieve positive client outcomes and help our patients get back to their best life. Whether you want to be able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to get out of bed in the morning without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Warrenton, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.