Chronic Pain Treatment in Washington, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Washington, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well the debilitating consequences it can have on your life. For some of us, 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 daily tasks like doing household chores, or the activities we love most, whether that be sprinting down the field or being able to properly look after your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a collection of 15 physical and occupational therapy centers committed to helping our Washington, 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 our location most convenient for you you or schedule an appointment for effective chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after 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 muscles or joints, and can range from stiffness to searing, intense pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of U.S. adults 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,” affects how somebody can work or enjoy other activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain affects quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

What Causes Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors detect damaged tissue, and send a signal through your spinal cord up to your brain. Often, pain is due to an injury, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as falling, dental work, or surgery. It can last for anywhere from a moment to several weeks.

By contrast, people can experience chronic pain for several reasons. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain after the tissue is repaired . In other cases, it’s caused by an illness, or degenerative disease. 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 inflamed or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• Numerous different conditions that cause 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, wear and tear at work, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they bother tissue, nerves, or organs.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, this refers to pain that affects your muscles and joints throughout your body.
• Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — Sometimes, pain does not occur for a physical reason, but rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of depression, anxiety, and/or stress.

There are many pointers for managing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Washington, MO have felt like they tried everything and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward meaningful pain relief and getting back to the activities they love.

How Do Physical Therapists in Washington, MO Help With Chronic Pain Treatment?

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of methods in Washington, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic adjustments, massage, and regular exercise. Studies show that including physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to significant improvement. You are welcome to visit any Axes location in the Washington area for a free screening to learn what might be causing your chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. How often do you have pain? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll form a team 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 flexibility. Collectively improving those aspects of optimal movement health relieves pain and enhances your daily life by making your body function better, and interrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the nature of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Washington, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only alleviates pain but helps with any psychological stress related to your pain. A licensed Washington, MO physical therapist will help you perform exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With guided exercise, 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 at home.

Manual Therapy and Soft Tissue Mobilization

Manual therapy involves therapeutic touch to promote healing and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your Washington, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently move your muscles and joints. Research demonstrates that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective than either technique used by itself.

Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization is similar to manual therapy, except that instead of their hands, physical therapists use specialized tools like Astym®.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that increasingly more Washington, MO physical therapists are incorporating into their treatment plans. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in inflamed muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. This eases pain as it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the flow of nutrients to the affected body part.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes where the pain is located. It sends low-voltage electrical currents to release endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Washington, 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 Washington, MO include:

• Soft Tissue Mobilization
• Post Surgical Rehabilitation
• Shin Splint Treatment
• Direct Access Physical Therapy
• Gait Analysis
• Pelvic Floor Therapy
• Dry Needling Near Me
• Tendonitis Treatment
• Manual Physical Therapy
• Orthopedic Rehab Near Me

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Washington, MO, our goals are simple: to achieve positive client experiences and help people return to to their best life. Whether you miss being able to run across the tennis court like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Washington, MO today or request an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.