Spine Specialist Near Me in Eureka, MO

Spine specialist near me in Eureka, MO. Lower back pain can make normal tasks like sitting up painful, and disrupt how our bodies function. For physically active people, back problems can keep you from being at the top of their game. For workers, it can prevent you from putting food on the table for your Eureka, MO family. For others, it can keep us from taking the dog for a walk or other physical activities. Physical therapists with a spine specialty can help return to what you love doing most. 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, schedule an evaluation with an Axes Eureka, MO spine specialist, or reach out to the Axes location nearest you.

Under Missouri Revised Statute §334.506, a doctor needs to prescribe physical therapy. If you’re dealing with a recent injury or living with chronic pain, ask your doctor if physical therapy with a spine specialist in Eureka, MO can be safe and effective for you. In the meantime, take advantage of one of Axes’ free injury screenings.

The Anatomy of the 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. There are several different parts of your spine:

Vertebrae

There are 33 vertebrae from the top to bottom of the spine, which are small bones that form the backbone. Every vertebra has a hole in the middle to safeguard the spinal cord and its nerves. There are five vertebral groups. 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 allow us to 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” center known as the nucleus pulposus, which allows for mobility and absorption, and a tough, circular exterior called 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, from your brain to your tailbone, where the nerves extend into the lower part of your body. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebral column. The neural foramen are openings in the vertebrae that allow the nerves to go into other parts of the body. The spinal cord carries messages between our brain and other parts of our body.

Soft Tissue

The spine also has muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Ligaments connect vertebrae and holds them in the correct structure. Muscles are connected to bones by tendons, and power their movement.

A healthy spine needs all of these systems to to work together to achieve optimal movement health and a pain free life. A variety of conditions can make the spine damaged or unhealthy, which can greatly limit your ability to enjoy the things you love doing. When that happens, a spine specialist in Eureka, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can get you back to doing what you love most.

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

The American College of Physicians developed guidelines that include certain physical therapy treatments for lower back pain and neck pain. Whether you’re dealing with pain on a everyday basis or recently suffered a sports injury, Axes’ Eureka, MO spine specialists can help you live your best life. Some of the common conditions we treat in Eureka, MO are:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be caused by either acute trauma or wear and tear as we get older. They put pressure on a nerve which can be painful and limit mobility. Degenerative disc disease occurs as a natural result of aging, and greatly decreases flexibility.
• Sciatica — Sciatica is a general term for irritation of the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body and begins in the lumbar region. Symptoms include crippling pain, weakness, and tingling from your buttocks all the way down to your foot.
• 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 onsets as the cushioning between the joints wears down over time or from overuse. Obesity, autoimmune disorders, and other conditions can also lead to arthritis. The term “arthritis” describes over a hundred conditions, most of which can affect the spine.
• Axial Back Pain — Also called nonspecific back pain, this refers to pain isn’t brought on by a clear, diagnosable cause. Nonspecific 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 Eureka, MO spine specialists will work alongside you and your doctor to develop a treatment plan, based on proven strategies, and aimed at getting you back to the activities you love and a pain-free life. While some conditions, like degenerative disc disease, can’t be “cured,” physical therapy is an effective part of a comprehensive treatment plan that eases symptoms and returns optimal mobility.

If you need surgery on your spine, we offer pre- and post-surgical rehab in Eureka, MO to help you be healthy for surgery and recovery quickly and safely.

What a Physical Therapy Spine Specialist Can Do For You in Eureka, MO

Physical therapy is becoming an increasingly popular non-surgical option for a variety of issues affecting our musculoskeletal system. According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, 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 Eureka, MO physical therapist has been demonstrated to reduce the risk of long-term opioid use.

A spine specialist like those at Axes Physical Therapy will be able to determine what is causing your pain or other issues, and build a treatment plan based on your current and previous medical conditions, how old you are, and your desired activity level. Through a variety of exercises and manual therapy, physical therapy can limit symptoms, help your spine and nervous system function better, increase flexibility.

Physical Therapy for Spine Problems

Depending on what is causing your back pain or other symptoms, your Eureka, MO spine specialist at Axes may implement some of the following practices to help return you to the activities you love:

• Hands-On Care — Our Eureka, MO manual therapists are able to use subtle manipulations and stretches to alleviate symptoms and improve function caused by muscle or joint dysfunction. Manual therapy we may use to help you 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. Beyond reducing symptoms now, guided exercise will also help overall function and improve movement health. Exercises we might assign 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 aggravate it. We help you understand your injury and how it affects your body’s function, so you can learn how to be active safely. Injury prevention includes:
  • Patient education
  • Lifting education
  • Activity modification
  • Conditioning

Your treatment plan in Eureka, 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 services we offer in Eureka, 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 Eureka, MO

Don’t let a spine condition prevent you from what you love doing most. At Axes, our Eureka, MO spine specialists are dedicated to positive patient outcomes. You didn’t decide to live with back pain, but you do not have to choose to live with it. For a professional and knowledgeable Eureka, MO spine specialist to help you, request an evaluation with Axes Physical Therapy now or reach out to the location closest to you