Spine Specialist Near Me in New Melle, MO

Spine specialist near me in New Melle, MO. Spinal conditions can make normal activities like walking up the stairs excruciating, and keep us from optimal movement health. For people who play sports, back injuries can prevent you from being at peak performance. For breadwinners, it can prevent you from providing for your New Melle, 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. By developing a custom treatment plan, based on techniques proven to work, Axes Physical Therapy can help you achieve the lifestyle you desire. If you’re ready to finally be free from a crippling back condition, schedule an evaluation with an Axes New Melle, MO spine specialist, or get in touch with the Axes location most convenient for you.

Missouri law requires a prescription 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 New Melle, MO is right for you. In the meantime, come see us for 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 skull to your tailbone. The spine consists of:

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 immobile.

Facet Joints

Facet joints are the small joints that connect the bony tips of vertebrae on the back of the spine. 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 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 a tough, circular exterior called the annulus fibrosus that surrounds and protects the nucleus pulposus.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is made up of of nerves that travel through the vertebrae, 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 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 various types of soft tissue. Ligaments connect vertebrae and holds them in the correct structure. Tendons attach muscles to the vertebrae, and the muscles are what powers the spine’s movement.

Achieving 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 activities you love most. If you’re dealing with back pain or spine issues, a spine specialist in New Melle, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can provide safe and effective relief.

What Conditions Can a Spine Specialist in New Melle, MO Treat Me For?

The American College of Physicians recommends 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’ New Melle, MO spine specialists can help you live your best life. Some of the common conditions we provide relief and improved function for in New Melle, MO include:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be the result of either acute trauma or wear and tear from aging. They can impinge on a nerve which can cause severe pain along your neck and back and limit strength. Degenerative disc disease occurs as a natural result of aging, and can have symptoms similar to herniated discs.
• 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 cause to immense 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. Symptoms include pain, problems with walking or other movements, and numbness or tingling in your hands or feet.
• Spinal Arthritis — Arthritis is the inflammation of the facet joints. It onsets as the cushioning 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 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 soft tissue injuries such as muscle strains.

Whatever condition is currently ailing you, our New Melle, MO spine specialists will form a team with you and your doctor to develop a treatment plan, based on proven strategies, and aimed at getting 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 reduces pain and other symptoms and regains optimal mobility.

If you need surgery on your spine, we offer pre- and post-surgical rehab in New Melle, MO to help get the best results possible.

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

Physical therapy is becoming an increasingly popular non-invasive treatment plan for a variety of issues affecting our musculoskeletal system. According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, physical therapy can get the same relief and results for some back pain as surgery, without the same recovery time or risk of adverse side-effects. Early intervention by a licensed New Melle, MO physical therapist is proven to reduce the risk of long-term opioid use.

A qualified spine specialist will be able to determine what is causing your pain or other issues, and develop a treatment plan based on your injures, how old you are, and your desired activity level. Through a variety of exercises and techniques, physical therapy can reduce pain, improve the function of your spine by increasing strength and flexibility, enhance flexibility.

Physical Therapy for Spine Issues

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

• Hands-On Care — Our New Melle, MO manual therapists are able to use light pressures and stretches to decrease back pain due to spinal issues. Manual therapy 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 getting your body stronger and more flexible. In addition to managing symptoms 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 gotten past 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 can learn how to be active safely. Our injury prevention program includes:
  • Patient education
  • Lifting education
  • Activity modification
  • Conditioning

Your treatment plan in New Melle, MO will be based not on just recovery or pain relief, but on getting you to optimal function and keeping you there. However we recommend treating your spine condition or back pain, it will designed based on peer-reviewed studies that those techniques have been proven to work.

Other services we offer in New Melle, 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 New Melle, MO

Don’t let a spine condition keep you from what you love doing most. At Axes, our New Melle, MO spine specialists strive for positive patient outcomes. Your pain may not have been your choice, but you can choose to do something about it. For a licensed and experienced New Melle, MO spine specialist to treat you, request an appointment with Axes Physical Therapy now or reach out to the location nearest you