Chronic Pain Treatment in Woodson Terrace, MO

Chronic pain treatment in Woodson Terrace, 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. Sometimes, it goes on so long that we lose sight of what it feels like to live a pain-free life. At it’s worse, the pain can keep us from comfortably performing basic activities like carrying in groceries, or the things we love most, whether that be flying down the field or painting bowls of fruit.

Axes Physical Therapy is a group of provider-owned physical and occupational therapy locations dedicated to helping our Woodson Terrace, MO patients achieve positive outcomes through personalized chronic pain treatment plans, built on techniques that have been demonstrated to work. If you’re finally ready to move on from chronic pain, call the location nearest you or request an appointment for safe chronic pain treatment.

What Type of Pain is Considered “Chronic”?

Chronic pain is pain that lasts for longer than three months, which is generally considered to be the “normal” healing period. The pain can occur every day or every few days, can be localized or hit different muscles or joints, and can be anything from aching to searing, intense pain.

According to the CDC, in 2019 one out of five U.S. adults had chronic pain. 7.4% of adults (over a third of those with chronic pain) had “high-impact” chronic pain, defined as pain that, on “most days” or “every day,” limits work or life activities. Chronic pain doesn’t just hurt you physically. Chronic pain reduces quality of life and leads to significant economic costs. It can also lead to anxiety, depression, and trouble sleeping.

Why Do I Have Chronic Pain?

Pain, generally speaking, occurs when nerves called nociceptors perceive damage somewhere in your body, and send a signal through your spinal cord up to your brain. Often, pain is caused by a specific incident or medical condition. “Acute pain” occurs suddenly, usually because of a discernible, underlying cause such as stubbing your toe, dental work, or surgery. It can last for anywhere from a few minutes to months while the injury heals.

By contrast, the causes of chronic pain aren’t always easily identifiable. Sometimes an injury continues to cause pain even after it’s healed . In other cases, it’s caused by a medical condition, or occurs as our bodies wear down as we 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 and other diseases 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 lead to lower back pain — Almost 9 out of 10 adults suffer from back pain eventually. Causes can be poor posture or technique, wear and tear at work, sciatica, or disc injuries that affect the nerves in the spinal column.
• Cancer pain — Tumors can cause pain when they push up against other parts inside your body.
• Fibromyalgia — While an exact cause isn’t yet known, 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 rather it’s caused by the nervous system, or because of mental health issues or your personal history.

You can read our tips for managing chronic pain, and while many can help you be more active in your daily life, many people we see in Woodson Terrace, MO have felt like they tried everything and still can’t find relief. Often, physical therapy becomes their path toward lasting pain relief and getting back to a pain-free daily life.

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

Chronic pain can be treated through a variety of modalities in Woodson Terrace, MO, including prescription or over-the-counter medications, chiropractic care, massage, and regular exercise. Studies show that making physical therapy a part of your treatment plan is incredibly effective for relieving chronic pain. You can come to any Axes location in the Woodson Terrace area for a free screening to better understand 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 does your chronic pain affect you in your daily life? From there, we’ll form a team with you and your physician to come up with a personalized course of treatment aimed at returning you a pain-free daily life.

Physical therapy helps by stretching and strengthening your body. Helping you achieve the best possible movement health eases pain and improves your quality of life by making your body work better, and breaking up any signals to your brain that something may be wrong. Depending on you, the causes of your chronic pain, your age, and your desired activity level, your treatment plan in Woodson Terrace, MO may include:

Guided Exercise

Exercise boosts your body’s production of endorphins, your body’s homegrown, feel-good hormone, which not only eases pain but eases any depression, stress, and/or anxiety caused by your pain. A qualified Woodson Terrace, 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 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 Woodson Terrace, MO physical therapist will use their hands to gently move your muscles and joints. Studies have shown that manual therapy and guided exercise together are more effective than either treatment method used by itself.

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

Dry Needling

Trigger point dry needling is a relatively new treatment method that is becoming more popular among Woodson Terrace, MO physical therapist. It involves using thin, filiform needles to penetrate irritated muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. In doing so, it encourages the body to start to heal itself and encourages the flow of blood 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 block the transmission of pain messages.

Patient Education

Understanding why you’re experiencing pain and how to cope with it can have a significant positive effect on your chronic pain treatment in Woodson Terrace, MO. We’ll teach you appropriate posture and movement techniques, as well as healthy lifestyle tips like diet recommendations.

Other services we offer in Woodson Terrace, MO include:

• 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
• Sprain and Strain Treatment

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

At Axes Physical Therapy in Woodson Terrace, MO, our objectives are simple: to achieve positive client outcomes and help people get back to the activities they love. Whether you miss being able to hit a breakaway layup like you used to, or just want to carry the groceries in without discomfort, speak to a physical therapist in Woodson Terrace, MO today or make an appointment online for lasting chronic pain treatment.