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New Developments in Spinal Stimulation for Pain Management
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been a medical treatment available for certain types of chronic pain for over 50 years. In general, this minimally invasive therapy involves putting a small lead in the spinal canal and using electrical energy from a battery to stimulate the sensory nerves of the spinal cord. This has been shown to decrease chronic pain from a variety of conditions.
There has been a rapid expansion of technologies and therapies in this area over the past few years. Physicians are now able to treat certain pains more effectively than ever before. These new technologies are related to both better equipment technology, stimulation targets, and also how the electrical energy is delivered to the spine and nerves. In addition to treating chronic nerve pain, there have been improvements in the ability to treat chronic back pain, post-knee surgery pain, post-hernia repair pain, and foot pain. Traditionally, patients who have a spinal cord stimulator would feel a pleasant, buzzing sensation (called a paresthesia) in the area of their pain. Now, certain technologies allow for stimulation without creating this sensation, which some patients prefer. Other new technology allows for more specific stimulation of a particular area of the body, which has been shown to be valuable for certain pain problems. Many systems now are compatible with MRI machines which had been a hurdle for some patients in the past.
Generally, a pain medicine physician would be a good source of information to determine if a certain technology would be beneficial for an individual patient. All of this means that there are more options than ever before to treat a wide variety of patients!
Helpful Links:
- Learn more via the Neuromodulation Tab
- Request an Appointment
- Discuss with peers via the implantable neurostimulator discussion
- Read a patient story
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Good luck!
I don't think so. I've had the wires removed several times. Four trials and one permanent SCS. I currently have a back problem but it is probably degenerative narrowing between L-4 and L-5. Pain doctor said he can target both the back problem and foot problem with my scheduled Boston Scientific SCS trial on June 12th. We'll see.
Your going to need an physiatric evaluation for the insurance company to approve the trial SCS. They should recommend one. I've had two of them. they are usually conducted by zoom or telephone. They will contact your doctor with the result. They a regood for a year. I was approved both times. The second one cost me $100.
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1 ReactionThank you!
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1 ReactionPerhaps you should get a second opinion about the pain pump. Good luck.
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1 ReactionThanks for sharing your experience with the nevro unit. (the latest is the HFX iQ) Which model do you have? Sorry to hear that the real implant didn't perform as well as the trial. Its now about two and a half years since you first posted, so how much relief are you getting now?? Finally, have you had to get any spinal MRI's with the nevro in place? I am seeing mixed comments on the web re whether or not you can get an MRI with these in place. --Rich in Santa Rosa, CA.
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1 ReactionDid it work
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1 ReactionDid it help you
So did it help you
Hello, My name is Luanne @lulufp1975,
I am new to this group. In June of 2021 I was walking to my car after a lovely lunch when a car backed into my body. I have damage to my spine, disc and severe nerve damage. I have a Spine and Pain management specialist that I love. I have been receiving epidural injections, and oblations to different areas. I was seeing an acupuncturist three times a week. I did physical therapy. And right now I regularly see a chiropractor who I love. Not old school chiropractic where he does now manipulating and massaging. I also listen to high frequency, music which helps. Energy healing. Yesterday I saw my neurologist. And we talked about. The HF10 spinal cord stimulation system. I’ve been doing a lot of research and there’s always so much information pointing both ways to the pros and cons. I have post traumatic stress due to this injury. And I would say on a hole I am improving but I get very discouraged because I take one step forward and two steps back. On February 1 I had an ablation in my lower right side of my back and I’m due to have an ablation on the left side on 29 February. since then I have had very minimal pain in that area. But now pain has started in another area in my middle left side of my back. So that is why we were discussing the HF10 implant. as I have been very leery about surgery. I was wondering if there are any recent updates on this device and if anyone can point me to those that have had success with it. I do know that with anything there is always risks. But what I wanna know is with the advancement in technology are the risks less? Thank you all for your input.
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