Chronic Pain Treatment in West Alton, MO

Chronic pain treatment in West Alton, MO. Anyone who has suffered from chronic pain knows how hard it is to express the effects it has on your daily life. For some of us, it goes on so long that we lose sight of how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing daily tasks like carrying in groceries, or the activities we love best, whether that be dominating your local flag football league or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical therapy treatment locations dedicated to helping our West Alton, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized chronic pain treatment plans, based on techniques that have been proven to work. To get back to the activities you love most, reach out to our location most convenient for you you or contact us online for successful chronic pain treatment.

What Is Chronic Pain?

Chronic pain is pain that doesn’t go away after three 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 hit different body parts, and can be anything from dull soreness to burning pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 20.4% of American adults suffered from chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (or 36.4% of those who experienced chronic pain) had “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 higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

What’s Behind Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damaged tissue, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. Often, pain is due to trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs immediately, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as being hit with something, 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. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts after the tissue is repaired . Other times, it’s caused by a medical condition, or degenerative disease. Sometimes, there is no perceptible 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 irritated or wear down from overuse or overexertion, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• A variety of conditions that cause low back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, repetitive motions at a physically demanding job, sciatica, or a variety of disc injuries.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can lead to 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, there is no underlying musculoskeletal cause, 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 help you be more active in your daily life, many of our West Alton, MO patients tell us that they have 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.

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in West Alton, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, chiropractic care, yoga, and regular exercise. Studies show that incorporating physical therapy into your treatment plan can lead to considerable improvement. You can come to any of our 15 locations for a free screening to learn why you might be suffering from 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 is limiting you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll form a team with you and your physician to develop a personalized treatment plan aimed at returning you a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by increasing your strength, balance, posture, and range of motion. Helping you achieve optimal mobility relieves pain and improves your quality of life by allowing your body to work better, and disrupting certain body parts from sending pain messages to your brain. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in West Alton, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise releases endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good chemical messengers, which not only eases pain but helps with any depression, stress, and/or anxiety you feel because of your pain. A professional West Alton, MO physical therapist can guide through exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be achieved without pain, rebuilding your brain’s trust in the rest of your body. 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 involves therapeutic touch to encourage your body’s natural healing process and relaxation of the surrounding tissues. Your West Alton, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely put pressure on soft tissue. Studies have shown that manual therapy combined with guided exercise is more effective than either technique used alone.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that is becoming more popular among West Alton, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in irritated soft tissue. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself 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 delivers low-voltage currents, which releases endorphins and awakens 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 West Alton, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement techniques, as well as healthy lifestyle tips like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other conditions we treat in West Alton, MO include:

• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in West Alton, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to achieve positive patient outcomes and help people get back to the activities they love. Whether you want to be 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 West Alton, MO today or schedule an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.