Can Spinal Cord Stimulation Help You?
Spinal Cord Stimulation
by Brett A. Osborn, DO
Pain is treated in many ways depending on the cause and severity of pain. Chronic leg and low back pain may be the result of spinal arthritis or failed spinal surgery. The latter is referred to as “failed back” or “post-laminectomy” syndrome. In addition, patients may experience residual pain post-amputation, so called “phantom limb pain” or causalgia which refers to chronic, sometimes agonizing leg pain as the result of a trauma (to the limb itself). Pain syndromes such as these may be extremely difficult to treat or even refractory to medical treatment. Until now...
Neurosurgeons at St. Mary’s Medical Center are experts in the field of Spinal Cord Stimulation. Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) is used to exert pulsed electrical signals to the spinal cord to control chronic pain. SCS, in its base form, consists of stimulating electrodes implanted in the epidural space, an electrical pulse generator implanted in the flank or gluteal region, conducting wires connecting the electrodes to the generator, and the generator remote control.
The implanted system masks pain signals from the affected limb (or low back) by sending electrical pulses through the spinal cord, in a sense, “confusing” the brain’s interpretation of pain.
SCS systems are implanted during a 90 minute procedure. Patients are typically maintained in the hospital overnight and discharged the following day.
While the systems in themselves do not cure disease, 50% of patients experience at least 50% reduction in pain. This may lower requirement for pain medication, ultimately translating to a more functional and productive lifestyle.