Benefits of Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain
Pain, chronic or acute, affects more than just a person’s physical body. It affects the mind, emotions, relationships and can catastrophize negative responses that foster frustration, anger, and even hopelessness.
But your quality of life does not have to suffer along with the physical conditioning of pain even if you have been living with chronic pain for decades. Advances in pain treatments in the field of spinal cord stimulation therapy have been shown to advance patients’ outcomes by improving their ability to function day-to-day and prevent repeat surgeries for pain.
Globally, over 34,000 patients enjoy the pain management benefits of spinal cord stimulation through spinal cord stimulation implants.
Spinal cord stimulation therapy works by inhibiting pain signals before they reach the brain and hence limiting pain sensations through mild electrical stimulation of the nerves that run across the column of the spinal cord. The procedure is safe, effective, and has been approved for the treatment of chronic pain.
Top Benefits of Spinal Cord Stimulation for Chronic Pain
Spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain has been around since 1967. In 1989, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved spinal cord stimulation procedures for the treatment of pain in different parts of the body such as arms, trunk, legs, and many more. Here are proven benefits of spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain:
Targeted Pain Relief
Conventional medications prescribed for managing chronic pain usually come with many side effects because they affect the whole body. Hence, they cause a lot of inconveniences, including nausea, constipation, drowsiness, and many more. Spinal cord stimulation, on the other hand, addresses the root of the pain, through an implanted device called the Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS). It stimulates a targeted block and provides pain relief to only areas where they are needed.
Adjustable Pain Relief
The experience of pain differs for every individual. So, it is impossible for two different individuals to feel the same extent and level of pain at the same time. The spinal cord stimulator settings provide a personalized pain relief therapy through a handheld controller that comes with pain adjustment options. This enables patients with chronic pain to have control over their pain based on their movements.
Reduced Burden on Drug Use
It is needless to say that drug dependence exists concurrently with individuals with chronic pain. But it is even more than that. Chronic pain can be a risk factor for substance abuse for people with pain because of dependence on opioid use and many other medications. Spinal cord stimulation therapy allows people to take fewer medications, including opioids, and reduces the possibility of adverse drug events that may occur from opioid overuse.
Minimally Invasive Procedure for Chronic Pain
Spinal cord stimulation typically requires just one incision for placement of the pulse generator to achieve pain relief. This reduces the burden of dependence on surgical procedures, which could be a leading cause of even more nerve damage and other associated side effects.
Reduced Pain
One of the leading benefits of spinal cord stimulation therapy is its ability to effectively reduce chronic pain through low electrical pulses. Even if a patient has not experienced sufficient pain relief from conventional medications, spinal cord stimulation therapy is the way to go.
Less Uncertainty
Management of chronic pain with conventional medications only provides minimal pain relief and potential impacts for poor clinical outcomes such as dependence, side effects, and even unresponsiveness to medication use. Chronic pain therapy with spinal cord stimulation therapy provides predictable and controllable treatment characterized by faster and immediate recovery and a much lower potential for the development of tolerance to therapy.
Your quality of life should not be affected because of chronic pain. At Hadi Medical Group, we improve our patients’ quality of life through pain management services. Contact us today for chronic pain management with spinal cord stimulation in Brooklyn, Hempstead, Long Beach, and Plainview.