Spine Specialist Near Me in Twin Oaks, MO

Spine specialist near me in Twin Oaks, MO. Spinal conditions can make normal activities like walking up the stairs painful, and keep us from our best possible movement health. For athletes, back injuries can keep you from being at peak performance. For breadwinners, it can hinder your ability to put food on the table for your Twin Oaks, MO family. For others, it can keep us from taking walks or playing with our children 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. By creating a custom 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 move on from debilitating back pain, schedule an appointment with an Axes Twin Oaks, 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 living with chronic pain, consult with your physician about if physical therapy with a spine specialist in Twin Oaks, MO can be safe and effective for you. In the meantime, visit one of our offices for one of Axes’ no-obligation injury screenings.

The Anatomy of the Spine

The spine supports both our physical bodies, and how our bodies communicate. It extends from the base of your skull to your pelvis. There are several different parts of your spine:

Vertebrae

The spine consists of 33 vertebrae, which are small bones that form the backbone. The spinal cord and nerves run through holes in the middle of each vertebra. 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 provide mobility; 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 perform a variety of movements. 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 flat, round cushions between the vertebrae that absorb shock and prevent the vertebrae from grinding against each other. Every two vertebrae have one disc between them. Discs have a softer middle known as the nucleus pulposus, which allows for mobility and absorption, 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 structure, 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 nerves branch out to other parts of the body through openings in the vertebrae known as the neural foramen. The spinal cord carries messages between our brain and other parts of our body.

Soft Tissue

Surrounding and within the spine are also various types of soft tissue. Ligaments attach bones together and holds them in the correct structure. Muscles are attached to bones by tendons, and power their movement.

A healthy spine needs all of these systems 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 keep you from the activities you love most. When that happens, a spine specialist in Twin Oaks, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can provide safe and effective relief.

What Conditions Can a Spine Specialist in Twin Oaks, MO Treat Me For?

The American College of Physicians developed guidelines that include a variety of physical therapy treatments for people living with lower back pain and neck pain. Whether you’re living with chronic pain or recently suffered a work injury, Axes’ Twin Oaks, MO spine specialists can help get you feeling great again. Some of the common conditions we treat in Twin Oaks, MO include:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be caused by either acute trauma or wear and tear as we get older. They put pressure 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 is a general term for irritation of the sciatic nerve, which is the largest nerve in the body and begins near your tailbone. Symptoms include debilitating 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 describes several different types of joint disease. It onsets as the cushioning 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 known as nonspecific back pain, this refers to pain that doesn’t have a known, recognizable cause. Axial back pain can be caused by obesity or poor posture.

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

Whatever is causing your back pain or injury, our Twin Oaks, MO spine specialists will work in tandem with you and your doctor to design a treatment plan, based on proven strategies, and aimed at getting you back to the activities you love and a pain-free life. While some conditions, like stenosis, can’t be “cured,” physical therapy is an effective part of a comprehensive treatment plan that eases symptoms and regains optimal mobility.

If your spine condition requires surgery, we offer pre- and post-surgical rehab in Twin Oaks, MO to help you be healthy for surgery and recovery quickly and safely.

What a Physical Therapy Spine Specialist Can Do For You in Twin Oaks, MO

More and more people are turning to physical therapy as a non-invasive treatment plan for a variety of issues affecting our musculoskeletal system. According to a study published By the American College of Physicians, physical therapy is just as effective as surgery for certain types of back pain, without the same risk of complications. Early intervention by a licensed Twin Oaks, MO physical therapist is proven to reduce long-term opioid dependence.

A qualified spine specialist will be able to determine what is causing your pain or other issues, and create a treatment plan based on your medical history, your age, and the lifestyle you wish to achieve or get back to. Through a variety of exercises and techniques, physical therapy can limit symptoms, improve the function of your spine by improving strength and flexibility, enhance flexibility.

Physical Therapy for Spine Problems

Depending on your specific condition, your Twin Oaks, MO spine specialist at Axes may implement some of the following practices to help get you back to what you love doing most:

• Manual Therapy — Our Twin Oaks, 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 incorporate into your treatment plan include:
  • Trigger point dry needling
  • Soft tissue mobilization
  • Joint mobilization and manipulation
  • Trigger point massage
• Guided Exercise — Safe exercises are crucial for helping you build up strength, flexibility, and balance. In addition to limiting pain now, certain exercises will also help overall function and improve movement health. Exercises we might assign include:
  • Core stabilization
  • Postural retraining
  • Flexibility
  • Cardio conditioning
  • Strength training
  • Home exercise
• Injury Prevention — It’s incredibly frustrating to feel like you’re moving on from an injury, only to aggravate it. We help you understand your injury and how it affects your body’s function, so you’ll know how to stay healthy in the future. Our injury prevention program includes:
  • Patient education
  • Lifting education
  • Activity modification
  • Conditioning

Your treatment plan in Twin Oaks, MO will be based not on just recovery or pain relief, but on getting you to optimal function and helping you stay 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 Twin Oaks, 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 Twin Oaks, MO

Don’t allow a back injury prevent you from the activities you love. At Axes, our Twin Oaks, 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 professional and knowledgeable Twin Oaks, MO spine specialist to help you, request an appointment with Axes Physical Therapy today or reach out to the location nearest you