Spine Specialist Near Me in Mapaville, MO

Spine specialist near me in Mapaville, MO. Lower back pain can make everyday activities like laying down excruciating, and interrupt how our bodies function. For athletes, back injuries can keep you from being at peak performance. For breadwinners, it can prevent you from providing for your Mapaville, MO family. For others, it can keep us from taking walks or playing with our grandkids like we love doing. Physical therapists with a spine specialty can help you get back to the functional and pain-free life you’re seeking. Through safe and proven exercises and treatment plans, Axes Physical Therapy can help you achieve the movement health and pain relief your body needs to function, and that you need to live your best life. If you’re prepared to at long last move on from the issues holding you back, request an evaluation with an Axes Mapaville, MO spine specialist, or reach out to the Axes location nearest you.

Under Missouri law, a doctor needs to prescribe physical therapy. If you’re dealing with a recent injury or living with chronic pain, consult with your physician about if physical therapy with a spine specialist in Mapaville, MO can be safe and effective for you. You can also come see us for one of our no-obligation 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 begins at the base of your brain and ends at your tailbone. 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 protect 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 cervical, thoracic, and lumbar 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. Between the joints and bones are cartilage and synovial fluid, allowing the bones to move without grinding against each other.

Intervertebral Discs

Discs are the circular cushions between the vertebrae that absorb the stress and shock the body incurs when moving. There is one disc between each vertebra. Discs have a softer middle known as the nucleus pulposus, which gives them flexibility and allows them to absorb shock, 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, from your brain to your pelvis, 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 that allow the nerves to go into other parts of the body. The spinal cord is how our bodies and brains communicate.

Soft Tissue

The spine also has muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Ligaments attach vertebrae and holds them in the correct structure. Tendons attach muscles to the vertebrae, and the muscles are what powers the spine’s movement.

Living the lifestyle we want depends on all of these parts working together and functioning properly. Numerous different factors can interfere with the spine and keep you from the things you love doing. When that happens, a spine specialist in Mapaville, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can get you back to the lifestyle you desire.

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

The American College of Physicians recommends a variety of physical therapy treatments for people living with lower back pain and neck pain. Whether you’re dealing with pain on a daily basis or recently suffered a sports injury, Axes’ Mapaville, MO spine specialists can help get you feeling great again. Some of the common conditions we treat in Mapaville, MO include:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be due to either an injury or wear and tear as we get older. They can impinge on a nerve which can cause severe pain along your neck and back and limit strength. 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 originates in the lumbar region. It can lead to immense pain, weakness, and numbness 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. It can cause pain, balance issues, and loss of sensation in the extremities.
• Spinal Arthritis — Arthritis is the inflammation of the facet joints. It occurs 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 known as nonspecific back pain, this refers to pain isn’t brought on by a clear, diagnosable cause. Common causes are obesity or poor posture.

Physical therapy is also an effective treatment option for soft tissue injuries such as whiplash.

Whatever is causing your back pain or injury, our Mapaville, MO spine specialists will work with you and your physician to design an evidence-backed treatment plan to get you back to the activities you love and a pain-free 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 what’s ailing you requires surgery, we offer pre- and post-surgical rehab in Mapaville, MO to help you be healthy for surgery and recovery quickly and safely.

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

Physical therapy is becoming an increasingly popular non-invasive treatment plan for a variety of issues affecting our musculoskeletal system. According to a paper 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 Mapaville, MO physical therapist is proven to reduce 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 current and previous medical conditions, your age, and your desired activity level. Through numerous different exercises and techniques, physical therapy can reduce pain, improve the function of your spine by increasing strength and flexibility, boost flexibility.

Physical Therapy for Spine Issues

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

• Hands-On Care — Our Mapaville, MO manual therapists are able to use light manipulations and stretches to alleviate symptoms and improve function caused by muscle or joint dysfunction. Manual therapy we may include in your treatment plan include:
  • Trigger point 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 decreasing symptoms now, guided exercise 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’re moving on from 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 can learn how to be active safely. Injury prevention includes:
  • Patient education
  • Lifting education
  • Activity modification
  • Conditioning

Your treatment plan in Mapaville, 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 conditions we help treat in Mapaville, 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

Count on Axes For Your Spine Specialist Near Me in Mapaville, MO

Don’t allow a spine condition keep you from the activities you love. At Axes, our Mapaville, 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 experienced Mapaville, MO spine specialist to help you, request an evaluation with Axes Physical Therapy now or contact the location closest to you