Chronic Pain Treatment Wickes, MO | Physical Therapists Near Wickes

Chronic Pain Treatment in Wickes, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Wickes, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how limiting it can be. For some of us, it goes on so long that we forget how good we used to feel. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily tasks like walking up the stairs, or the activities we love best, whether that be dominating your local flag football league or playing with your children.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy locations committed to helping our Wickes, MO patients find lasting relief through custom-tailored chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been proven to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, 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 doesn’t go away after 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 hit different body parts, and can be anything from aching to searing, intense pain.

Based on research from the CDC, in 2019 one out of five American adults dealt with 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. Anyone who suffers from pain frequently will tell you that it causes far more than just physical discomfort. Chronic pain reduces quality of life and leads to higher medical expenses. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, in general, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal from that body part to your brain. In most cases, pain is due to a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs at once, 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 known. In some cases there may be an injury that hurts even after it’s healed . In other cases, 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 soft tissue in our joints can become irritated or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
Numerous different conditions that cause lower 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 physically demanding job, 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 widespread muscle pain and tenderness.
Neurogenic pain and psychogenic pain — In some cases, there is no underlying musculoskeletal cause, but because there is an issue in the nervous system, or because of psychological stress.

You can read our pointers for managing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many people we see in Wickes, MO have felt like they tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to the things that are most important to them.

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

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

There are many possible options for chronic pain treatment in Wickes, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter drugs, 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 visit any of our 15 locations 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. How often do you have pain? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How is limiting you in your daily life? After your screening, we’ll work in concert with you and your doctor to develop a personalized course of treatment aimed at getting you back a comfortable daily life.

Physical therapy can relieve pain by stretching and strengthening your body. Helping you achieve the best possible 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 causes of your chronic pain, your age, and the activity level you wish to get back to, your treatment plan in Wickes, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s natural, feel-good hormone, which not only eases pain but helps with related symptoms like stress and depression. A licensed Wickes, MO physical therapist will guide through exercises that will safely and effectively improve your mobility. With guided exercise, we can re-train your brain to accept certain movements and positions 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 promote healing and relaxation of muscles and joints. Your Wickes, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently put pressure on soft tissue. Research demonstrates 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 Graston®, instead of their hands, to smooth out tissue and locate degenerative tissue and soft tissue restrictions.

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new tool that is becoming more popular among Wickes, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in inflamed soft tissue. In doing so, it stimulates the body’s “healing mode” and encourages the flow of blood to the affected body part.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS)

TENS works by placing electrodes on the skin near where you are experiencing pain. It sends low-level electrical currents to release endorphins and stimulates nerve cells that stop your brain from receiving pain signals.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to deal with it in your daily life can do wonders for your chronic pain treatment in Wickes, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement techniques, as well as healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other conditions we treat in Wickes, MO include:

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

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Wickes, MO, our objectives are simple: to achieve positive patient outcomes and help our patients return to to the activities they love. Whether you miss being 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 Wickes, MO today or make an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.