Spine Specialist Near Me in Ballwin, MO

Spine specialist near me in Ballwin, MO. Spinal conditions can make normal tasks like bending over excruciating, and keep us from optimal movement health. For physically active people, back injuries can prevent you from being at the top of their game. For breadwinners, it can prevent you from putting food on the table for your Ballwin, MO family. For others, it can prevent us from taking the dog for a walk or playing with our children like we love doing. Physical therapists who specialize in the spine can help you get back to the functional and pain-free life you’re looking for. Through safe and proven exercises and treatment plans, Axes Physical Therapy can help you live your best life. If you’re prepared to at long last move on from the issues holding you back, request an appointment with an Axes Ballwin, MO spine specialist, or call the Axes location nearest you.

Missouri Revised Statute §334.506 mandates that a prescription is required for physical therapy. If you’re recovering from a back or neck injury, or are find that back pain is disrupting your daily life, ask your doctor if physical therapy with a spine specialist in Ballwin, MO is right for you. In the meantime, take advantage of one of our complimentary injury screenings.

The Anatomy of the Spine

The spine is our central support structure, and plays a fundamental role in most movements and how the body communicates with itself. It extends from the base of your brain to your pelvis. There are several different parts of your spine:

Vertebrae

The spine consists of 33 vertebrae, which are small bones that stack on top of each other to form the spinal canal. Every vertebra has a hole in the center to safeguard the spinal cord and its nerves. There are five vertebral regions. There are:

• 7 vertebrae in the cervical region (your neck)
• 12 vertebrae in the thoracic region (your middle back)
• 5 vertebrae in the lumbar region (your lower back)
• 5 vertebrae in the sacrum region (the triangle shaped bone that connects to the hips)
• 4 vertebrae in the coccyx region (your tailbone)

The 24 vertebrae in the first 3 regions provide mobility; the others are fused when we’re babies.

Facet Joints

Each vertebra is connected to two facet joints which connect the bones to each other. They allow your back and neck to extend, bend, twist, and rotate. They are lined with cartilage and lubricated with synovial fluid, allowing the bones to move without grinding against each other.

Intervertebral Discs

Discs are the circular cushions between the vertebrae that act as shock absorbers. Every two vertebrae have one disc between them. Discs have a softer center known as the nucleus pulposus, which allows for mobility and absorption, and a tough, circular exterior known as the annulus fibrosus that protect the disc and connect the vertebrae.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord consists of nerves running up the bones in your spine, extending from the brain to your lumbar region, where the nerves go into the lower part of your body. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column. The neural foramen are openings in the vertebrae where the nerves to go into other parts of the body. The spinal cord allows our brain to tell our bodies to move, and our brains to receive sensory information from our body.

Soft Tissue

Surrounding and within the spine are also various types of soft tissue. Ligaments attach bones together and holds them in the correct structure. Muscles are connected to bones by tendons, and power their movement.

Living the lifestyle we want depends on all of these parts working together and functioning properly. Numerous different conditions can make the spine damaged or unhealthy, which can severely limit your ability to enjoy the activities you love most. If you’re dealing with back pain or spine issues, a spine specialist in Ballwin, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can provide safe and effective relief.

What Injuries Can a Spine Specialist in Ballwin, MO Treat Me For?

The American College of Physicians developed guidelines that include a variety of physical therapy treatments for lower back pain and neck pain. Whether you’re dealing with pain on a daily basis or recently sustained a work injury, Axes’ Ballwin, MO spine specialists can help get you feeling great again. Some of the common conditions we provide relief and improved function for in Ballwin, MO include:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be due to either an injury or wear and tear from aging. They put pressure on a nerve which can be painful and limit mobility. Degenerative disc disease occurs as the cushioning in your spine wears away, and greatly decreases flexibility.
• Sciatica — Sciatica refers to a variety of conditions which irritate the sciatic nerve, which is our bodies’ longest nerves and begins near your tailbone. It can cause to crippling pain, weakness, and numbness down one side of your body.
• Spinal Stenosis — Stenosis occurs when the spinal cavity becomes too narrow and puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. It can cause pain, issues with walking or other movements, and numbness or tingling in the extremities.
• Spinal Arthritis — Arthritis describes several different types of joint disease. It occurs as the cushioning between the joints degrades over time or from over-exertion. It can also be caused by autoimmune disorders. There are over 100 types of arthritis, most of which are possible in the spine.
• Axial Back Pain — Also referred to as nonspecific back pain, this refers to pain that doesn’t have a known, recognizable cause. Common causes are obesity or poor posture.

Physical therapy is also an effective treatment option for muscle strains, whiplash, and other more acute injuries.

Whatever is causing your back pain or injury, our Ballwin, MO spine specialists will work alongside you and your doctor to design a treatment plan, based on proven strategies, and aimed at getting you back to the activities you love and a more comfortable life. While some conditions, like degenerative disc disease, won’t ever fully go away, physical therapy can be part of a holistic wellness routine that eases symptoms and regains optimal mobility.

If what’s ailing you requires surgery, we offer pre- and post-surgical rehab in Ballwin, MO to help your surgery go as well as possible.

Benefits of Working With a Physical Therapy Spine Specialist in Ballwin, MO

Physical therapy is becoming an increasingly popular non-invasive treatment plan for a variety of issues affecting our musculoskeletal system. According to research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, physical therapy can get the same relief and results for some back pain as surgery, and doesn’t involve the same recovery time or risk of adverse side-effects. Early intervention by a licensed Ballwin, MO physical therapist is proven to limit long-term opioid dependence.

A knowledgeable and experienced spine specialist will be able to determine what is causing your pain or other issues, and build a treatment plan based on your injures, how old you are, and the lifestyle you wish to achieve or get back to. Through a variety of exercises and techniques, physical therapy can limit symptoms, help your spine and nervous system function better, enhance flexibility.

Physical Therapy for Spine Problems

Depending on your specific condition, your Ballwin, MO spine specialist at Axes may implement some of the following practices to help return you to what you love doing most:

• Manual Therapy — Our Ballwin, MO manual therapists are experts at using subtle pressures and stretches to decrease back pain caused by muscle or joint dysfunction. Hand-on services we may incorporate into your treatment plan include:
  • Dry needling
  • Soft tissue mobilization
  • Joint mobilization and manipulation
  • Trigger point massage
• Guided Exercise — Safe exercises are crucial for getting your body stronger and more flexible. In addition to limiting symptoms now, certain exercises will also help overall function and improve movement health. Effective exercises for spine conditions include:
  • Core stabilization
  • Postural retraining
  • Flexibility
  • Cardio conditioning
  • Strength training
  • Home exercise
• Injury Prevention — There’s nothing worse than believing you’ve overcome an injury, only to suffer another injury in the future. We’ll educate you about the musculoskeletal system and how yours is being affected, so you’ll know how to stay healthy in the future. Our injury prevention program includes:
  • Patient education
  • Lifting education
  • Activity modification
  • Conditioning

Your treatment plan in Ballwin, MO will be holistic and focused on getting you to optimal movement health and keeping you there. However we recommend treating your spine condition or back pain, it will be based on peer-reviewed studies that those techniques have been proven to work.

Other conditions we help treat in Ballwin, MO include:

• Beginner Running Program
• Chronic Pain Treatment
• MCL Injury
• Shoulder Pain
• Injury Prevention
• Mobility
• Knee Injury
• Joint Pain
• Sciatica

Call Axes For Your Spine Specialist Near Me in Ballwin, MO

Don’t let a back injury keep you from living the life you want. At Axes, our Ballwin, MO spine specialists are dedicated to positive patient outcomes. You didn’t decide to live with this condition, but you do not have to decide to live with it. For a professional and qualified Ballwin, MO spine specialist to help you, schedule an evaluation with Axes Physical Therapy now or contact the location nearest you