Chronic pain impacts nearly every part of life. If you struggle with persistent back pain or neuropathy, spinal cord stimulation may offer relief.
At Delmarva Pain and Spine Center, Dr. Shachi Patel and her team provide SCS for conditions such as neuropathy and treatment-resistant back pain. She’s an experienced pain management specialist who has many patients whose lives have changed for the better due to SCS therapy.
Spinal cord stimulation is a treatment using a battery-powered pulse generator and leads placed in the epidural space of the spine to deliver electrical stimulation and manage chronic pain. The process begins with a trial period: the device is temporarily placed to see if it relieves your pain before you undergo surgery for permanent implantation.
During the trial procedure, we use fluoroscopy (a special type of X-ray) and a long, hollow needle to pinpoint the epidural space where we want to place the leads. We then insert the leads into the epidural space and secure them to the skin with a suture.
After the leads are in place, we connect them to a pulse generator worn outside your body. You use this trial system for about a week to ten days. If you experience at least 50% pain reduction during this time, we recommend proceeding with the permanent implantation of both leads and the pulse generator.
You control the intensity of the electrical stimulation with a handheld remote. Some newer systems even offer the ability to not feel any stimulation, essentially eliminating pain through a higher frequency.
SCS works for various chronic pain issues, including failed back surgery syndrome, chronic regional pain syndrome, and diabetic neuropathy.
SCS is very effective for pain involving nerves in the central and peripheral nervous systems. The main reason patients find them so successful is that they essentially mask pain through electrical stimulation.
Think of the electrical stimulation as white noise. When you have pain, the signals are going from the area of pain to the brain, which causes you to feel discomfort.
Electrical stimulation in an SCS provides a paresthesia sensation, essentially scrambling the pain signals so they don’t reach the brain. It’s like white noise, allowing you to feel a slight “buzzing” feeling in your back, arms, or legs, instead of pain.
The best part of the SCS system is that you control the level of paraesthesia. If you’re having an especially bad day, you can turn up the “white noise”; on good days, you can turn it down or completely off.
An SCS cuts back on oral pain medications and the opioid crisis by disrupting pain signals at their source.
You may be a good candidate for SCS if you have persistent neuropathic pain that has not responded to multiple previous treatments, and other standard therapies have been exhausted.
We also tailor SCS to certain conditions where we know it works best. You could consider spinal cord stimulation if you’re living with any of the following:
It’s also essential to undergo a psychological evaluation to ensure you understand the risks and are comfortable with an implanted device. A successful trial is another key to long-term pain reduction.
To find out if you’re a good candidate for the popular SCS treatment for chronic pain, call our Newark, Delaware, office to schedule an appointment or request a consultation with Dr. Patel on our website.
