Spine Specialist Near Me in St. Louis, MO

Spine specialist near me in St. Louis, MO. Spine injuries can make everyday tasks like bending over excruciating, and keep us from our best possible movement health. For athletes, back injuries can prevent you from being at peak performance. For breadwinners, it can prevent you from providing for your St. Louis, MO family. For others, it can prevent us from taking walks or other physical activities. Physical therapists with a spine specialty can help return 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 mobility 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 be free from debilitating back pain, request an appointment with an Axes St. Louis, 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 dealing with a recent injury or living with chronic pain, consult with your physician about if physical therapy with a spine specialist in St. Louis, MO is right for you. You can also visit one of our offices for one of Axes’ complimentary injury screenings.

The Human 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 brain to your pelvis. There are several different parts of your spine:

Vertebrae

The spine consists of 33 vertebrae, which are small bones that stack on top of each other to form the spinal canal. The spinal cord and nerves run through holes in the middle of each vertebra. 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 allow us to 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 shock and prevent the vertebrae from grinding against each other. There is one disc between each vertebra. Discs have a “gel-like” center called the nucleus pulposus, which gives them flexibility and allows them to absorb impact, and a tough, circular exterior known as the annulus fibrosus that prevent the gel-like center from leaking out.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord is made up of of nerves that travel through the vertebrae, 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 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 well-functioning spine needs all of these different structures to function properly and in unison to achieve optimal movement health and a pain free life. Numerous different conditions can make the spine damaged or unhealthy, which can severely limit your ability to enjoy the activities you love most. When that happens, a spine specialist in St. Louis, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can provide safe and effective relief.

What Injuries Can a Spine Specialist in St. Louis, MO Help With?

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

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be caused by either acute trauma or general degradation as we get older. They can impinge on a nerve which can be painful and limit function. Degenerative disc disease occurs as a natural result of aging, 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 near your tailbone. Symptoms include crippling pain, weakness, and tingling down one side of your body.
• Spinal Stenosis — Stenosis occurs when the vertebral column is too small. Symptoms include pain, issues with walking or other movements, and numbness or tingling in the extremities.
• Spinal Arthritis — Arthritis describes several different types of joint disease. It onsets as the cartilage between the joints degrades over time or from over-exertion. Obesity, autoimmune disorders, and other conditions can also lead to arthritis. There are over 100 types of arthritis, most of which are possible in the spine.
• Axial Back Pain — Also referred to as nonspecific back pain, this refers to pain isn’t brought on by a clear, diagnosable cause. Axial back pain can be caused by obesity or poor posture.

Physical therapy is also an effective treatment option for muscle strains, whiplash, and other more acute injuries.

Whatever condition is currently ailing you, our St. Louis, MO spine specialists will work with you and your physician to come up with 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 arthritis, won’t ever fully go away, physical therapy can be part of a holistic treatment plan that reduces pain and other symptoms and achieves optimal mobility.

If what’s ailing you requires surgery, we offer pre- and post-surgical rehab in St. Louis, MO to help your surgery go as well as possible.

Benefits of Working With a Physical Therapy Spine Specialist in St. Louis, MO

More and more people are turning to physical therapy as a non-invasive treatment plan for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. According to research published By the American College of Physicians, physical therapy is just as effective as surgery for certain types of back pain, and doesn’t involve the same risk of complications. Early intervention by a licensed St. Louis, MO physical therapist is proven to limit long-term opioid dependence.

A licensed 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 your desired activity level. Through numerous different exercises and manual manipulations, physical therapy can limit symptoms, improve the function of your spine by improving strength and flexibility, enhance range of motion.

Physical Therapy for Spine Issues

Depending on your specific condition, your St. Louis, MO spine specialist at Axes may include some of the following in your treatment plan:

• Manual Therapy — Our St. Louis, MO manual therapists are able to use light pressures and stretches to decrease back pain caused by muscle or joint dysfunction. Hand-on services we may incorporate into your treatment plan include:
  • Dry needling
  • Soft tissue mobilization
  • Joint mobilization and manipulation
  • Trigger point massage
• Guided Exercise — Safe exercises are essential for getting your body stronger and more flexible. In addition to managing pain now, guided exercise will allow you to maintain a healthy spine while going to work or doing the activities you love most. Exercises we might assign include:
  • Core stabilization
  • Postural retraining
  • Flexibility
  • Cardio conditioning
  • Strength training
  • Home exercise
• Injury Prevention — It’s incredibly frustrating to believe you’ve overcome an injury, only to aggravate it. We help you understand the musculoskeletal system and how yours is being affected, 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 St. Louis, MO will be exhaustive and focused on getting you to your best possible movement health and helping you stay there. However we recommend treating your spine condition or back pain, it will designed based on time-tested techniques.

Other services we offer in St. Louis, MO include:

• Back Pain Treatment
• 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

Call Axes For Your Spine Specialist Near Me in St. Louis, MO

Don’t allow a spine condition keep you from the activities you love. At Axes, our St. Louis, MO spine specialists are dedicated to positive patient outcomes. Your pain may not have been your choice, but you do not have to decide to live with it. For a professional and knowledgeable St. Louis, MO spine specialist to help you, request an evaluation with Axes Physical Therapy now or reach out to the location most convenient for you