Spine Specialist Near Me in St. Charles, MO

Spine specialist near me in St. Charles, MO. Spine injuries can make basic tasks like laying down difficult, and keep us from optimal movement health. For people who play sports, back problems can keep you from being at the top of their game. For breadwinners, it can prevent you from putting food on the table for your St. Charles, MO loved ones. 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 you get back to what you love doing most. Through safe and proven exercises and treatment plans, Axes Physical Therapy can help you achieve the strength, flexibility, and pain relief your body needs to be at its best, and that you need to live your best life. If you’re ready to at long last move on from the issues holding you back, schedule an evaluation with an Axes St. Charles, MO spine specialist, or call the Axes location most convenient for you.

Missouri Revised Statute §334.506 mandates that a prescription is required 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 St. Charles, MO can be safe and effective for you. You can also come see us for one of our free injury screenings.

The Anatomy of the Spine

The spine supports both our physical bodies, and how our bodies communicate. It begins at the base of your skull and ends at your pelvis. 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 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 are the only ones that can move; the others are immobile.

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 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 center known as the nucleus pulposus, which allows for mobility and absorption, and a tough, circular exterior known as the annulus fibrosus that prevent the gel-like center from leaking out.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord consists of nerves running up the bones in your spine, from your brain to your pelvis, 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 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 bones together and holds them in the correct structure. Muscles are attached to bones by tendons, and power their movement.

A healthy spine relies on all of these systems to to work together to achieve optimal movement health and a pain free life. Numerous different factors can make the spine damaged or unhealthy, which can keep you from the activities you love most. If you’re living with back pain or spine issues, a spine specialist in St. Charles, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can provide safe and effective relief.

What Conditions Can a Spine Specialist in St. Charles, MO Help With?

The American College of Physicians recommends numerous 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’ St. Charles, MO spine specialists can help get you feeling great again. Some of the common conditions we help with in St. Charles, MO include:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be the result of either acute trauma or wear and tear as we get older. They can impinge on a nerve which can be painful and limit function. Degenerative disc disease occurs as the cushioning in your spine wears away, and can have symptoms similar to herniated discs.
• Sciatica — Sciatica refers to a variety of conditions which irritate the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body and originates in the lumbar region. It can cause to immense pain, weakness, and numbness through your buttock and leg.
• Spinal Stenosis — Stenosis occurs when the vertebral column is too small. Symptoms include pain, problems 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 cartilage between the joints wears down over time or from repeated trauma. It can also be caused by autoimmune disorders. There are over 100 types of arthritis, 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 can also help with soft tissue injuries such as muscle strains.

Whatever condition is currently ailing you, our St. Charles, MO spine specialists will form a team with you and your physician to come up with 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 stenosis, can’t be “cured,” physical therapy can be part of a holistic wellness routine that eases symptoms and achieves optimal mobility.

If you need surgery on your spine, we can work with you in your pre- and post-surgical rehab in St. Charles, MO to help you be healthy for surgery and recovery quickly and safely.

What a Physical Therapy Spine Specialist Can Do For You in St. Charles, MO

More and more people are turning to physical therapy as a non-surgical option for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. 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, without the same recovery time or risk of adverse side-effects. Early intervention by a licensed St. Charles, MO physical therapist is proven to limit 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 design a treatment plan based on your current and previous medical conditions, your age, and the lifestyle you wish to achieve or get back to. Through numerous different exercises and techniques, physical therapy can limit symptoms, help your spine and nervous system function better, enhance range of motion.

Physical Therapy for Spine Conditions

Depending on your specific condition, your St. Charles, MO spine specialist at Axes may implement some of the following practices to help get you back to the activities you love:

• Hands-On Care — Our St. Charles, MO manual therapists are experts at using light pressures and stretches to alleviate symptoms and improve function caused by muscle or joint dysfunction. Hand-on services 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. In addition to managing symptoms now, guided exercise will allow you to maintain a well-functioning spine when you’re on the move. 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 St. Charles, MO will be based not on just recovery or pain relief, but on getting you to your best possible function and keeping you there. Whatever your treatment plan includes, it will be based on peer-reviewed studies that those techniques have been proven to work.

Other conditions we help treat in St. Charles, 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 St. Charles, MO

Don’t allow a spine condition prevent you from the activities you love. At Axes, our St. Charles, 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 knowledgeable St. Charles, MO spine specialist to treat you, request an appointment with Axes Physical Therapy now or contact the location most convenient for you