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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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I wanted this stimulator but was talked into a Medtronic one instead by the doctor.
I am not a fan of these things. Might just be the Medtronic one however.
Hoping someone who has the one you are talking about responds. I would be interested in what they have to say
@lulufp1975 and @stantallusa, there are several discussions in the Chronic Pain and Spine Health support groups comparing and discussing different stimulator.
Use Search to find relevant topics. Here are a few search results that may help:
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=HF10+implant
- https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=stimulator
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1 ReactionIt helped during the try out phase, but was not very helpful after it was installed.
I have af Chb by Boston Scientific. Not the latest one, but helpful nonetheless. Not a magic bullet, but better with it than without it.
I have Boston Scientific model too, but happy to read that you are having better results than I have had.
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1 ReactionI’ve been working closely w the Boston Scientific rep., and have met with her and her colleagues several times over the past 2 years to reprogram the stimulator, and try different programs, particularly as symptoms change. For a long time I wondered whether or not it was actually helping or doing anything, until I got careless about checking the status of the battery, and realized that it had drained. That correlated with a really bad time I was having w pain, so it told me that the stimulator was actually doing something. Until that happened, I really wasn’t sure.
Chronic pain is such a complex phenomenon, and Medicine has so few answers, that each patient has to find which modalities and medications work for them. I know I would be lost without my
1) Neurontin (gabapentin, the generic, didn’t do anything for me; it was like having no meds on board)
2) low dose THC gummies (the green apple flavour made by Hedy, that has a 1:54 ratio of THC to CBD, where half a gummy is the tolerable dose for me)
3) high THC topicals (Vireo Red)
4) morphine
5) acetaminophen
6) baclofen (a muscle relaxant), and
7) the spinal cord stimulator.
And even with all of the above, I have a very poor quality of life, because the failed back surgeries have done, and continue to do so much damage, I.e. Adjacent Segment Disease.
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2 ReactionsMy wife has had the Nevro about 5 years the first 2 years it worked great she got a lot of relief since then sh has had a lot of issue she is not getting very little relief and about 3 months ago she started gettin a lot of pain so she turned it off and the pain went away and turned it back on and the pain came back she has an oppointment with Nevro tech to look at the machine she is wanting it removed because the last 3 years it was been worse with it in and it takes over 3 hours to charge it and does not stay charger very long
Hi @gizmo01, you may wish to join members in these related discussions:
- Anyone had Spinal stimulator removed? Replaced?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/spinal-stimulator/
- How did you get relief with a spinal stimulator? Adjustments?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/nevro-spinal-stimulator-patients/
Search all related discussion: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=nevro%20stimulator
I have had Stimwave SCS for six years for lumbar pain and it has been a life saver!
I highly recommend it.
Seeking Information on SCS for Osteoarthritis Hip Pain
Hello,
I recently came across this forum and hope someone here might have experience with using a spinal cord stimulator (SCS) for managing osteoarthritis pain, particularly in the hip.
Last year, my 89-year-old father-in-law, who was previously very active—working in the yard and walking at least three miles daily—slipped on ice and fractured his hip. While his hip healed relatively quickly, he developed severe osteoarthritis shortly afterward. For the past six months, he has been in constant pain, which has drastically affected his quality of life. He has gone from being a happy, energetic person to feeling depressed and almost completely sedentary.
He refuses to take opioids due to their side effects and often expresses feelings of despair. It’s heartbreaking to see him suffer like this.
On a positive note, my aunt had an SCS implanted several years ago for chronic back pain and experienced significant relief. This has made me wonder whether an SCS might be a viable option for my father-in-law's osteoarthritis-related hip pain. However, I haven’t been able to find much information about its effectiveness for this specific condition.
If anyone has insights, experiences, or knowledge about using SCS for osteoarthritis pain, especially in the hip, I would greatly appreciate your input.
Thank you so much!