Spine Specialist Near Me in Park Hills, MO

Spine specialist near me in Park Hills, MO. Spine injuries can make everyday tasks like standing up difficult, and interrupt how our bodies function. For athletes, back injuries can keep you from being at peak performance. For workers, it can prevent you from providing for your Park Hills, MO family. For others, it can prevent us from going on bike ride or other physical activities. Physical therapists who specialize in the spine can help you get back to what you love doing most. By creating 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 finally be free from a crippling back condition, schedule an evaluation with an Axes Park Hills, MO spine specialist, or reach out to the Axes location most convenient for you.

Pursuant to Missouri law, a doctor needs to prescribe 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 Park Hills, MO is what you need. You can also come see us for one of Axes’ complimentary injury screenings.

The Human Spine

The spine supports both our physical bodies, and how our bodies communicate. It extends from the base of your skull to your pelvis. The spine is made up of:

Vertebrae

The spine consists of 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 center 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 cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions are the only ones that can move; the others are fused into place.

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 act as shock absorbers. There is one disc between each vertebra. Discs have a softer middle 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 nucleus pulposus from leaking out.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is a collection of nerves running up the bones in your spine, extending from the brain to your lumbar region, where the nerves go into the lower part of your body. The spinal cord is protected by the vertebrae and other tissue. 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

Surrounding and within the spine are also muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Ligaments attach bones together and holds them in the correct 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 greatly limit your ability to enjoy the things you love doing. When that happens, a spine specialist in Park Hills, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can provide safe and effective relief.

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

The American College of Physicians recommends numerous 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 work injury, Axes’ Park Hills, MO spine specialists can help get you feeling great again. Some of the common conditions we treat in Park Hills, MO are:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be the result of either an injury or wear and tear as we get older. They can impinge 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 an umbrella term for irritation of the sciatic nerve, which is our bodies’ longest nerves and begins near your tailbone. It can cause to 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. It can cause pain, balance problems, and numbness or tingling in the extremities.
• Spinal Arthritis — Arthritis is swelling or tenderness in one or more joints. It occurs as the cartilage between the joints degrades 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 facet joints of the spine.
• Axial Back Pain — Also referred to as nonspecific back pain, this refers to pain that doesn’t have a known, recognizable 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 condition is currently ailing you, our Park Hills, MO spine specialists will work alongside you and your doctor to develop 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 degenerative disc disease, won’t ever fully go away, physical therapy can be part of a comprehensive wellness routine that reduces pain and other symptoms and returns optimal mobility.

If your spine condition requires surgery, we can work with you in your pre- and post-surgical rehab in Park Hills, MO to help your surgery go as well as possible.

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

Physical therapy is becoming an increasingly popular non-surgical option for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. According to research 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 risk of complications. Early intervention by a licensed Park Hills, MO physical therapist is proven to reduce long-term opioid dependence.

A licensed spine specialist will be able to find the root cause of your back problems, and create a treatment plan based on your injures, how old you are, and your desired activity level. Through numerous different 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 your specific condition, your Park Hills, MO spine specialist at Axes may include some of the following in your treatment plan:

• Manual Therapy — Our Park Hills, MO manual therapists are experts at using light pressures 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 getting your soft tissue, joints, and bones stronger and more flexible. In addition to limiting pain now, guided exercise will allow you to maintain a healthy 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’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’ll know how to stay healthy in the future. Injury prevention includes:
  • Patient education
  • Lifting education
  • Activity modification
  • Conditioning

Your treatment plan in Park Hills, 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. Whatever your treatment plan includes, it will designed based on time-tested techniques.

Other conditions we help treat in Park Hills, MO include:

• Beginner Running Program
• Chronic Pain Treatment
• MCL Injury
• Shoulder Pain
• Injury Prevention
• Mobility
• Knee Injury
• Joint Pain
• Sciatica

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

Don’t allow a spine condition keep you from the activities you love. At Axes, our Park Hills, MO spine specialists are dedicated to positive patient outcomes. You didn’t decide to live with back pain, but you do not have to decide to live with it. For a licensed and knowledgeable Park Hills, MO spine specialist to treat you, schedule an evaluation with Axes Physical Therapy today or reach out to the location most convenient for you