Spinal cord stimulation has been a successful pain management treatment for many people with chronic neuropathic pain. The procedure to implant the device and pair the remote to control the impulses takes about an hour under local anesthesia.
If the trial period is successful and the patient and doctor determine it will be beneficial for pain management, a permanent device can be implanted. Probes are placed under the skin to target the affected nerves near the spinal or dorsal column for a trial period. To determine whether a patient is a good candidate for SCS, a temporary device is used. Neuropathic pain is the most common pain treated with this method, including complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), lumbar/cervical radiculopathy, diabetic neuropathy and other types of arm, leg or back pain. Spinal cord stimulation can be used for several different types of chronic pain, helping minimize the use of pain medications and improve function. It is controlled by a remote that can turn it on, off or adjust the level of impulses. SCS can be used as a permanent therapy by implanting a device under the skin that targets the affected nerves. Instead of pain, the patient feels paresthesia from the electrical stimulus, a mild, tingling sensation that is not unpleasant. Using a low electrical current, the treatment interrupts pain signals by targeting the affected nerves. The concept behind spinal cord stimulation, or SCS, is to interfere with pain signals sent by the nerves to the brain. One advanced treatment for chronic pain management is spinal cord stimulation, and it is available at Medici Spine & Pain. When chronic pain cannot be stopped through repairing the source, another option is interrupting the pain signals to the brain. Most of these nerves use the spinal cord as the superhighway to direct signals to the brain. Millions of nerve receptors and pathways connect to your brain. Chronic pain is how your brain interprets signals sent by the nerves in your body.