Chronic Pain Treatment in Winchester, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Winchester, MO. If you suffer from chronic pain, you know all too well how hard it is to express the effects it has on your daily life. For some of us, the months or years we’ve dealt with it leads us to lose sight of how good we’re capable of feeling. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably completing daily activities like doing household chores, or the things we love best, whether that be sprinting down the field or picking up your grandchildren.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy locations dedicated to helping our Winchester, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through customized and evidence-backed chronic pain treatment. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, reach out to our location nearest you or request an appointment for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

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 occur every day or every few days, can stay in one spot or hit different body parts, and can change in severity from aching to stinging pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five U.S. adults 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,” limits work or life activities. Anyone who suffers from pain frequently 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 trouble sleeping.

Why Do People Experience 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. Often, pain is due to trauma, an infection, or other medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a known, root cause such as falling, 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 . In other cases, it’s caused by a medical condition, or happens as our bodies weaken with age. Sometimes, the pain isn’t caused by a specific condition, but rather from things like poor posture, obesity, or overexertion. 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 damaged or wear down over time or due to an injury, causing chronic pain in the affected joint.
• A variety of conditions that lead to 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 work, sciatica, or disc injuries that affect the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they grow and touch other parts inside your body.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, this refers to pain you feel in your muscles all over 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 mental health issues or your personal history.

There are many suggestions for easing chronic pain, and while many can lead to greater comfort, many people we see in Winchester, MO tell us that they have tried all of them and more and still can’t feel better. Often, physical therapy is the strategy that finally gets them relief and returns them to the things that are most important to them.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of modalities in Winchester, MO, including medication, spinal adjustments by a chiropractor, massage therapy, and regular exercise. Research demonstrates that including physical therapy into your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You are welcome to visit any Axes location in the Winchester area for a free screening to learn what might be causing your chronic pain. We’ll get to know you and your pain better. Do you experience pain every day? Most days? What makes it worse? What makes it better? How is limiting you in your daily life? After our evaluation, we’ll work in tandem with you and your doctor to come up with a personalized course of treatment aimed at returning you a pain-free 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 interrupting any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, how old you are, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Winchester, 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 caused by your pain. A qualified Winchester, MO physical therapist will guide through exercises aimed at improving your mobility without causing further pain or injury. With these exercises, your brain will come to understand that certain movements can be performed without pain, rebuilding how your brain processes messages. 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 Winchester, MO physical therapist will use their hands to safely move your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are better at treating pain than either treatment method used by itself.

With instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization, physical therapists use specialized tools, like HawkGrips®, 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 treatment method that is becoming more popular among Winchester, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to gently create small tears or rips in irritated soft tissue. This eases pain as it encourages the body to start to heal itself and stimulates the flow of blood to the region.

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 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 Winchester, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement techniques, in addition to healthy lifestyle suggestions like how to keep a healthy diet.

Other services we offer in Winchester, MO include:

• Physical Therapy Clinic
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Winchester, MO, we do what we do for simple reasons: to deliver positive patient outcomes and help our patients return to to the activities they love. Whether you want to be able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to walk up the stairs pain-free, speak to a physical therapist in Winchester, MO today or request an appointment online for meaningful chronic pain treatment.