Spine Specialist Near Me in Black Jack, MO

Spine specialist near me in Black Jack, MO. Spine injuries can make normal activities like bending over difficult, and keep us from optimal movement health. For physically active people, back injuries can keep you from being at peak performance. For workers, it can obstruct your ability to provide for your Black Jack, MO loved ones. For others, it can keep us from going on bike ride or playing with our grandkids as we’d like to. Physical therapists who specialize in the spine can help return to what you love doing most. Through safe and proven exercises and treatment plans, Axes Physical Therapy can help you achieve the mobility and pain relief your body needs to function, and that you need to live your best life. If you’re ready to at long last be free from the issues holding you back, schedule an evaluation with an Axes Black Jack, MO spine specialist, or call the Axes location nearest you.

Missouri law mandates that a prescription is required for physical therapy. If you’re recovering from a back or neck injury, or are living with chronic pain, ask your doctor if physical therapy with a spine specialist in Black Jack, MO is right for you. You can also visit one of our offices for one of our free injury screenings.

The Human Spine

The spine is our central support structure, and allows our brain and body to coordinate with each other. It extends from the base of your brain to your pelvis. The spine consists of:

Vertebrae

There are 33 vertebrae from the top to bottom of the spine, which are small bones that stack on top of each other to form the spinal canal. The spinal cord and nerves run through holes in the middle of each vertebra. The vertebrae are grouped into five 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 cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions are the only ones that can move; 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 healthy bones and joints to safely glide and slide during movement.

Intervertebral Discs

Discs are the flat, round cushions between the vertebrae that absorb shock and prevent the vertebrae from grinding against each other. There is one disc between each vertebra. Discs have a “gel-like” middle called the nucleus pulposus, which allows for mobility and absorption, and a tough, circular exterior known as the annulus fibrosus that surrounds and protects the nucleus pulposus.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is made up of of nerves running up the bones in your spine, from your brain to your tailbone, where the nerves go into the lower part of your body. The spinal cord is protected by spinal fluid and a membrane called dura mater. The neural foramen are openings in the vertebrae where the nerves to go into other parts of the body. The spinal cord is how our bodies and brains communicate.

Soft Tissue

Surrounding and within the spine are also muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Ligaments attach vertebrae, hold them in place, and give them structure. Muscles are attached to bones by tendons, and power their movement.

Living the lifestyle we want depends on all of these parts working together and functioning properly. A variety of factors can make the spine damaged or unhealthy, which can keep you from the activities you love most. When that happens, a spine specialist in Black Jack, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can get you back to the lifestyle you desire.

What Conditions Can a Spine Specialist in Black Jack, MO Help With?

The American College of Physicians recommends numerous physical therapy treatments for lower back pain and neck pain. Whether you’re living with chronic pain or recently sustained a work injury, Axes’ Black Jack, MO spine specialists can help you live your best life. Some of the common conditions we help with in Black Jack, MO include:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be the result of either an injury or general degradation as we get older. They can impinge on a nerve which can be painful and limit function. Degenerative disc disease occurs as a natural result of aging, and greatly decreases flexibility.
• Sciatica — Sciatica refers to a variety of conditions which irritate the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body and begins in the lower spine. Symptoms include crippling pain, weakness, and tingling through your buttock and leg.
• Spinal Stenosis — Stenosis occurs when the spinal cavity becomes too narrow and puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerves. Symptoms include 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 cartilage between the joints degrades over time or from repeated injuries. It can also be caused by autoimmune disorders. The term “arthritis” describes over a hundred conditions, most of which can affect the spine.
• Axial Back Pain — Also referred to as nonspecific back pain, this refers to pain isn’t brought on by a clear, diagnosable cause. Axial back pain can be caused by obesity or poor posture.

Physical therapy can also help with soft tissue injuries such as whiplash.

Whatever is causing your back pain or injury, our Black Jack, MO spine specialists will work in tandem with you and your physician to come up with an evidence-backed treatment plan to get you back to the things you love doing most and a pain-free life. While some conditions, like arthritis, won’t ever fully go away, physical therapy can be part of a holistic wellness routine that eases symptoms and regains optimal mobility.

If you need surgery on your spine, we offer pre- and post-surgical rehab in Black Jack, MO to help your surgery go as well as possible.

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

More and more people are turning to physical therapy as a non-surgical option for a variety of issues affecting our musculoskeletal system. According to a paper published By the American College of Physicians, physical therapy is just as effective as surgery for certain types of back pain, and doesn’t involve the same risk of complications. Early intervention by a licensed Black Jack, MO physical therapist has been demonstrated to limit long-term opioid dependence.

A spine specialist like those at Axes Physical Therapy will be able to find the root cause of your back problems, and develop a treatment plan based on your injures, your age, and your desired activity level. Through a variety of exercises and techniques, physical therapy can limit symptoms, help your spine and nervous system function better, enhance range of motion.

Physical Therapy for Spine Conditions

Depending on your specific condition, your Black Jack, MO spine specialist at Axes may include some of the following in your treatment plan:

• Manual Therapy — Our Black Jack, MO manual therapists are experts at using light pressures and stretches to decrease back pain due to spinal issues. Hand-on services we may include in your treatment plan include:
  • Dry needling
  • Soft tissue mobilization
  • Joint mobilization and manipulation
  • Trigger point massage
• Guided Exercise — Safe exercises are essential for helping you build up strength, flexibility, and balance. In addition to managing pain now, certain exercises will allow you to maintain a well-functioning spine when you’re on the move. 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 your injury and how it affects your body’s function, so you’ll know how to protect your spine while being active. Injury prevention includes:
  • Patient education
  • Lifting education
  • Activity modification
  • Conditioning

Your treatment plan in Black Jack, MO will be based not on just recovery or pain relief, but on getting you to your best possible function and helping you stay 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 Black Jack, MO include:

• Neck Pain Treatment
• 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

Call Axes For Your Spine Specialist Near Me in Black Jack, MO

Don’t let a spine condition prevent you from the activities you love. At Axes, our Black Jack, MO spine specialists are dedicated to positive patient outcomes. Your pain may not have been your choice, but you can choose to do something about it. For a professional and qualified Black Jack, MO spine specialist to help you, request an evaluation with Axes Physical Therapy today or reach out to the location nearest you