Spine Specialist Near Me in West Alton, MO

Spine specialist near me in West Alton, MO. Spine injuries can make normal tasks like walking up the stairs painful, and disrupt how our bodies function. For physically active people, back injuries can prevent you from being at peak performance. For breadwinners, it can impede your ability to provide for your West Alton, MO family. For others, it can keep us from taking walks or other physical activities. Physical therapists with a spine specialty can help return to what you love doing most. By creating a custom treatment plan, based on techniques proven to work, Axes Physical Therapy can help you achieve the mobility and pain relief your body needs to be at its best, and that you need to live your best life. If you’re prepared to finally be free from the issues holding you back, request an appointment with an Axes West Alton, MO spine specialist, or call the Axes location most convenient for you.

According to Missouri Revised Statute §334.506, a doctor needs to prescribe physical therapy. If you’re dealing with a recent injury or find that back pain is disrupting your daily life, ask your doctor if physical therapy with a spine specialist in West Alton, MO can be safe and effective for you. In the meantime, come see us 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. 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. The spinal cord and nerves run through holes in the middle of each vertebra. 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 cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions are the only ones that can move; 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 perform a variety of movements. They are lined with cartilage and lubricated with synovial fluid, allowing the bones to move safely.

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” middle known as the nucleus pulposus, which gives them flexibility and allows them to absorb impact, and a tough, circular exterior called the annulus fibrosus that surrounds and protects the nucleus pulposus.

Spinal Cord

The spinal cord consists of nerves running up the bones in your spine, from your brain to your tailbone, where the nerves continue into your legs. 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 allows our brain to tell our bodies to move, and our brains to receive sensory information from our body.

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. Tendons attach muscles to the vertebrae, and the muscles are what powers the spine’s movement.

A healthy spine needs all of these different structures 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 things you love doing. If you’re living with back pain or spine issues, a spine specialist in West Alton, MO like Axes’ physical therapists can get you back to doing what you love most.

What Injuries Can a Spine Specialist in West Alton, MO Help With?

The American College of Physicians recommends 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 suffered a work injury, Axes’ West Alton, MO spine specialists can help you live your best life. Some of the common conditions we provide relief and improved function for in West Alton, MO include:

• Disc Injuries — Herniated discs and bulging discs can be due to either acute trauma or general degradation 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 the cushioning in your spine wears away, 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 debilitating pain, weakness, and numbness 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, issues with walking or other movements, and loss of sensation in the extremities.
• Spinal Arthritis — Arthritis is the inflammation of the facet joints. It onsets as the cushioning between the joints degrades over time or from over-exertion. 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 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 is also an effective treatment option for soft tissue injuries such as whiplash.

Whatever condition is currently ailing you, our West Alton, MO spine specialists will work in concert with you and your physician to design 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 comprehensive treatment plan that reduces pain and other symptoms and returns optimal mobility.

If you need surgery on your spine, we can work with you in your pre- and post-surgical rehab in West Alton, MO to help your surgery go as well as possible.

Benefits of Working With a Physical Therapy Spine Specialist in West Alton, MO

More and more people are turning to physical therapy as a non-surgical option for a variety of musculoskeletal conditions. According to research published By the American College of Physicians, physical therapy can get the same relief and results for some back pain as surgery, and doesn’t involve the same recovery time or risk of adverse side-effects. Early intervention by a licensed West Alton, MO physical therapist is proven to limit the risk of long-term opioid use.

A professional spine specialist will be able to find the root cause of your back problems, and develop a treatment plan based on your medical history, your age, and your desired activity level. Through a variety of exercises and manual manipulations, physical therapy can reduce pain, improve the function of your spine by increasing strength and flexibility, increase flexibility.

Physical Therapy for Spine Problems

Depending on what is causing your back pain or other symptoms, your West Alton, MO spine specialist at Axes may implement some of the following practices to help get you back to the activities you love:

• Manual Therapy — Our West Alton, 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:
  • 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 reducing pain now, guided exercise 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 — There’s nothing worse than believing you’ve gotten past an injury, only to suffer another injury in the future. We help you understand your injury and how it affects your body’s function, so you’ll know how to protect your spine while being active. Injury prevention includes:
  • Patient education
  • Lifting education
  • Activity modification
  • Conditioning

Your treatment plan in West Alton, MO will be comprehensive and focused on getting you to your best possible 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 conditions we help treat in West Alton, MO include:

• Soft Tissue Mobilization
• Post Surgical Rehabilitation
• Shin Splint Treatment
• Direct Access Physical Therapy
• Gait Analysis
• Pelvic Floor Therapy
• Dry Needling Near Me
• Tendonitis Treatment
• Manual Physical Therapy
• Orthopedic Rehab Near Me

Call Axes For Your Spine Specialist Near Me in West Alton, MO

Don’t allow a back injury prevent you from the activities you love. At Axes, our West Alton, MO spine specialists are dedicated to positive patient outcomes. Your pain may not have been your choice, but you do not have to choose to live with it. For a licensed and experienced West Alton, MO spine specialist to help you, request an appointment with Axes Physical Therapy today or contact the location most convenient for you