Pain that doesn’t improve despite all other treatments could benefit from spinal cord stimulation. The experienced AABP Integrative Pain Care team in New York has considerable expertise in running spinal cord stimulator trials and permanent implants for patients with severe, treatment-resistant back, neck, or limb pain. Call AABP Integrative Pain Care’s office in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn, or in White Plains, New York, or book an appointment online today to see how spinal cord stimulation could help you.
Spinal cord stimulation uses mild pulses of electrical energy to stop your brain from receiving pain messages from nerves in your spine. It involves implanting a small device (spinal cord stimulator) under your skin that you manage with a remote control.
Spinal cord stimulation is primarily an option for patients who’ve tried other ways of relieving severe chronic pain without success. AABP Integrative Pain Care offers a range of effective conservative treatments such as physical therapy and medication that most people find beneficial.
They also offer advanced interventions like epidural steroid injections and radiofrequency ablation for patients who don’t get enough relief from other options. If your pain still doesn’t improve, your provider might suggest spinal cord stimulation.
AABP Integrative Pain Care uses spinal cord stimulation to treat severe chronic pain affecting your back, neck, shoulders, arms, pelvic area, or legs. Common causes of chronic pain in these areas include:
In addition to spinal cord stimulation, AABP Integrative Pain Care offers peripheral nerve stimulation for pain in other areas of your body.
A spinal cord stimulator has three parts — a small generator, one or two wires fitted with electrodes, and a controller unit. Your provider implants the generator that produces the electrical impulses under the skin on your abdomen, buttocks, or chest.
They thread the wires along your spine to the nerves delivering pain signals to your brain. To ensure the utmost accuracy, your provider uses image guidance technology to view the path of the electrodes.
The implantation procedure is less invasive than surgery, so you shouldn’t find the experience too uncomfortable.
Undergoing a full spinal cord stimulator implantation isn’t something you’d want to do unless you knew it was going to work. Therefore, you first have a trial period to see how effective you find the treatment.
Trial spinal cord stimulation involves wearing an external spinal cord stimulator on your belt for a week or so. Your provider fits temporary electrodes in your spine that attach to the external device. After the trial period, you and your provider can decide if permanent implantation is worthwhile.
To find out more about spinal cord stimulation and see if you’re a good candidate, call AABP Integrative Pain Care today or book an appointment online.