Spine Specialist Near Me in Manchester, MO

Spine specialist near me in Manchester, MO. Spine injuries can make everyday tasks like walking up the stairs excruciating, and disrupt how our bodies function. For physically active people, back problems can keep you from being at peak performance. For breadwinners, it can obstruct your ability to put food on the table for your Manchester, MO family. For others, it can keep us from taking walks or other physical activities. Physical therapists who specialize in the spine can help return to what you love doing most. By developing a personalized treatment plan, based on techniques proven to work, Axes Physical Therapy can help you achieve the lifestyle you desire. If you’re prepared to at long last be free from the issues holding you back, request an evaluation with an Axes Manchester, MO spine specialist, or get in touch with the Axes location nearest you.

Missouri law mandates that a prescription is required for physical therapy. If you’re dealing with a recent injury or find that back pain is keeping you from the activities you love, ask your doctor if physical therapy with a spine specialist in Manchester, MO is right for you. In the meantime, come see us for one of Axes’ no-obligation injury screenings.

The Anatomy of the Spine

The spine supports both our physical bodies, and how our bodies communicate. It extends from the base of your brain to your pelvis. There are several different parts of your spine:

Vertebrae

The spine has 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 middle to safeguard the spinal cord and its nerves. 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 first 3 regions provide mobility; the others are fused when we’re babies.

Facet Joints

Facet joints connect the vertebrae. They allow your back and neck to extend, bend, twist, and rotate. Between the joints and bones are cartilage and 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 act as shock absorbers. Every two vertebrae have one disc between them. Discs have a “gel-like” center called the nucleus pulposus, which allows for mobility and absorption, and an outer ring of tough fibers known as the annulus fibrosus that prevent the gel-like center from leaking out.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is a long, thin, tubular collection of nerves, extending from the brain to your lumbar region, where the nerves continue into your legs. The spinal cord is protected by spinal fluid and a membrane called dura mater. The nerves branch out to other parts of the body through openings in the vertebrae called the neural foramen. The spinal cord is how our bodies and brains communicate.

Soft Tissue

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

Achieving the lifestyle we want depends on all of these parts working together and functioning properly. A variety of conditions can interfere with the spine and greatly limit your ability to enjoy the things you love doing. If you’re dealing with back pain or spine issues, a spine specialist in Manchester, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can get you back to doing what you love most.

What Injuries Can a Spine Specialist in Manchester, MO Help With?

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

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be due to either an injury or general degradation 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 can have symptoms similar to herniated discs.
• Sciatica — Sciatica is a general term for irritation of the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body and originates in the lower spine. It can lead to debilitating pain, weakness, and tingling down one side of your body.
• Spinal Stenosis — Stenosis occurs when the vertebral column is too small. It can cause pain, issues with walking or other movements, and loss of sensation in your hands or feet.
• Spinal Arthritis — Arthritis describes several different types of joint disease. It occurs as the cushioning between the joints wears down over time or from repeated trauma. It can also be caused by autoimmune disorders. The term “arthritis” describes over a hundred conditions, most of which are possible in the spine.
• Axial Back Pain — Also called nonspecific back pain, this refers to pain that doesn’t have a known, recognizable cause. Common causes are obesity or poor posture.

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

Whatever condition is currently ailing you, our Manchester, MO spine specialists will work with you and your doctor to come up with an evidence-backed treatment plan to get you back to the things you love doing most and a more comfortable life. While some conditions, like stenosis, won’t ever fully go away, physical therapy is an effective part of a comprehensive treatment plan that reduces pain and other symptoms and returns optimal mobility.

If you need surgery on your spine, we can work with you in your pre- and post-surgical rehab in Manchester, MO to help your surgery go as well as possible.

Benefits of Working With a Physical Therapy Spine Specialist in Manchester, 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 By the American College of Physicians, physical therapy can get the same relief and results for some back pain as surgery, and doesn’t involve the same risk of complications. Early intervention by a licensed Manchester, 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 create a treatment plan based on your current and previous medical conditions, how old you are, and the lifestyle you wish to achieve or get back to. Through a variety of exercises and manual therapy, physical therapy can reduce pain, improve the function of your spine by improving strength and flexibility, increase range of motion.

Physical Therapy for Spine Conditions

Depending on what is causing your back pain or other symptoms, your Manchester, MO spine specialist at Axes may include some of the following in your treatment plan:

• Manual Therapy — Our Manchester, MO manual therapists are experts at using light pressures and stretches to decrease back pain caused by muscle or joint dysfunction. Hand-on services we may use to treat you include:
  • Trigger point dry needling
  • Soft tissue mobilization
  • Joint mobilization and manipulation
  • Trigger point massage
• Guided Exercise — Safe exercises are crucial for helping you build up strength, flexibility, and balance. Beyond reducing symptoms now, guided exercise will allow you to maintain a healthy spine while going to work or doing the activities you love most. Effective exercises for spine conditions include:
  • Core stabilization
  • Postural retraining
  • Flexibility
  • Cardio conditioning
  • Strength training
  • Home exercise
• Injury Prevention — It’s beyond frustrating to believe you’re moving on from an injury, only to suffer another injury in the future. 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 Manchester, MO will be exhaustive and focused on getting you to optimal 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 Manchester, 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 Manchester, MO

Don’t let a back injury prevent you from living the life you want. At Axes, our Manchester, MO spine specialists strive for positive patient outcomes. You didn’t decide to live with back pain, but you can choose to do something about it. For a licensed and qualified Manchester, MO spine specialist to treat you, request an evaluation with Axes Physical Therapy now or find the location closest to you