When back or nerve pain becomes severe enough to significantly affect an individual’s life and movement, and when medications and physiotherapy do not provide adequate relief, patients can benefit from more effective pain treatments like spinal cord stimulation (SCS).

In this article, we talk about spinal cord stimulation and what differentiates it from other pain treatments. If you’re exploring advanced back and nerve pain therapy, continue reading to find out how spinal cord stimulation may help you significantly treat your chronic pain.

How Does Spinal Cord Stimulation Work?

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a form of neuromodulation first developed nearly half a century ago, and it has been continuously developing since then. Neuromodulation is an advanced treatment approach that helps control chronic pain by gently changing how nerves transfer pain signals. It does this using safe, targeted electrical stimulation to alter the nerve activity at the pain’s source.

Spinal cord stimulation reduces how strongly the brain perceives pain, and thus it provides lasting relief and lowers the need for painkillers. With that said, it is important to remember that SCS does not specifically treat the underlying cause of the pain, it just tones down the electrical currents sent through the nerves that the brain translates into pain.

What is a Spinal Cord Stimulator?

The spinal cord stimulator or SCS device itself consists of 4-8 electrode leads, an extension cable, a pulse generator, and a programmer. The implanted leads are connected with extension cables to the pulse generator, which delivers electrical stimulation to specific nerve pathways involved in pain transmission.

The thin electrodes are usually placed in the dorsal epidural space near the spinal cord. After implantation, patients can use a remote to control and adjust the device’s response to different types and levels of pain.

As for the procedure itself, SCS requires two procedures. The first procedure is considered a trial phase of the device; where a doctor puts a temporary version of the spinal cord stimulator into the patient’s body for testing. If the trial was successful, the second procedure is administered to permanently implant the SCS device.

After the initial healing period, the spinal cord stimulator slowly becomes a regular part of the patients’ day, helping them find relief. The small device usually:

Isn’t visible through clothes.
Can be adjusted and switched on or off.

How Effective is Spinal Cord Stimulation?

Spinal cord stimulation is mostly recommended for adults with chronic pain caused by dysfunction of the nervous system, specifically those who continue to experience disabling pain despite conventional treatments. This treatment is also beneficial to people with persistent back pain after spinal surgery, which is often called failed back surgery syndrome.

SCS has proven to be an effective treatment for 40–50% of patients with refractory pain conditions, including complex regional pain syndrome and failed back surgery syndrome. Adding SCS to treatment plans has also proven to improve pain relief, function, and quality of life for patients with failed back surgery syndrome and predominant low back pain.

Despite the initial high costs of spinal cord stimulation, it is considered cost-effective for the long term when compared to alternative pain therapies. However, it is important to remember that SCS is only suitable for specific cases, and should be considered only after a thorough evaluation.

Explore Advanced Options for Chronic Back and Nerve Pain

Medical evaluation is important before deciding on going through with spinal cord stimulation, at Dr. Samer-Abdel-Aziz’s pain clinic, we assess chronic back and nerve pain conditions and help patients find the right advanced treatment for them. If you are living with chronic back pain and want to know whether spinal cord stimulation may be appropriate for you, book an appointment with us and let’s work together to achieve relief.

🗓️ Book your first appointment here: https://samerpainclinic.com/contact-us/

🗓️ Call us at +962790922204 or contact us via WhatsApp: https://wa.me/962790922204

Feel free to email your questions or concerns to info@samerpainclinic.com

Sources:

https://www.neuromodulation.com/about-neuromodulation

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5766402/

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/24237-spinal-cord-stimulator-scs

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3389317/

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7807848/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30720582/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17845835/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18981888/