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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’m so sorry to hear about your father in law’s physical and mental changes. Pain can definitely do that to you. I was very excited about the SCS for my spinal pain but sadly found out I was not a candidate due to having a buldging disc in my thoracic area where it’s placed. I can’t tell you whether it works for hips but I can share this number 7 1 4- 8 6 2- 2 9 6 2 of someone with Boston Scientific who makes the product. They have been so helpful in following up with me. I sure hope it can help for his hips.
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2 ReactionsI'm sorry you weren't a good fit for the SCS. Pain can take such a massive toll on every part of your life. Hopefully you found something to give you relief!
Thank you so much for the contact information; I'll definitely give them a call.
Best of luck!
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1 ReactionI'm not sure if this is the place to post this question but, here goes:
I have been going to a pain management doc for over two years. He manages my pain pump (which has yet to provide any relief). My pain can be so bad that at times I can barely walk. Sitting here right now, it is extremely difficult to remain in one position. It feels as if I am sitting on a pinched nerve of some sort. I have literally begged this PM doc to provide me with something that will better help my pain until we get this pump to start helping I am currently on 50 mg tramadol, 600 mg gabapentin, and 50 mg of diclodenac K). He just looks at me and sort of just puts me off. So, I made an appointment at another pain specialist practice in order to try and get something, anything, to help with this terrible pain. At the beginning of my appointment the doc was listening to me and when I came to my saying that my pain pump wasn't helping me, he suddenly became a bit defensive and said that he could not help me because I was seeing another PM doc about the pain pump, and he could not prescribe any kind of pain meds for me. He apologized for not being able to help me. Now I am feeling very despondent because I feel a bit stuck with this current PM doc who seems unwilling to help me with my pain. This seems almost cruel. Whatever happened to : "Do no harm"? I would really like to hear from some of you out there. Thank You!