Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) eases chronic pain using a surprisingly simple technique. The device sends mild electrical impulses into carefully targeted spinal nerves. The impulses stop pain messages from reaching your brain, which eases your pain.
Spinal cord stimulation may not eliminate all your pain. But for many people, the device causes such significant relief they can return to their activities and enjoy life again.
This device is safe, and you can use it indefinitely, for as long as it improves your pain. How will you know if it works? You have a spinal cord stimulation trial.
Our pain management experts at the Centers for Pain Control and Vein Care in Hobart, LaPorte, Munster, Valparaiso, and Merrillville, Indiana, have extensive experience easing patients’ pain with spinal cord stimulation. We explain the procedure and walk you through every step. However, you can get started by learning about the trial period.
Chronic pain treatment follows a progressive path. It begins with the least invasive but appropriate therapies. For many people, that means medication, physical therapy, and injections.
If your pain doesn’t improve, we recommend interventional procedures like epidural steroid injections, trigger point injections, and nerve blocks.
And if you still need more pain relief, we turn to advanced techniques like spinal cord stimulation.
You may qualify for a spinal cord stimulation trial when:
If you want to try spinal cord stimulation, we begin with a trial to see how well it works.
Spinal cord stimulators have three parts: lead wires, pulse generator, and remote controller. To start your trial, we insert the lead wires but don’t implant the pulse generator.
Lead wire insertion only requires a local anesthetic. We use a needle-like device to gently slide the wires through the epidural space until they reach the nerves transmitting pain signals. Then, we attach the other end of the wires to the pulse generator.
You wear the generator outside your body during the trial, usually on a belt around your waist. We initially program the strength and frequency of the electrical impulses. We also show you how to use the controller to adjust the settings and turn the device on and off.
You use the spinal cord stimulator for about a week. The trial could be shorter or longer, depending on your needs. You’ll learn how well it eases your pain as you go through each day and night.
There are a few limitations to follow during your trial. The pulse generator can’t get wet, so you’ll need to avoid swimming and be careful when bathing. You should also limit strenuous activities that might pull the wires.
We may ask you to take notes about your experience with the device and how it affected your pain. For example, it’s essential to know:
Everyone believes they’ll remember this information. However, in our experience, the details get fuzzy by the end of the week.
You return to the office at the end of the trial period, and we discuss your experience. We also evaluate the extent of your pain relief. A trial is successful if the device reduces your pain by at least 50%.
If the trial is successful, we make a joint decision about whether you should keep or remove the device. If you want to continue using spinal cord stimulation, we implant the generator.
However, we can easily remove the lead wires if your pain doesn’t improve enough to keep the device. After removing the wires, we can recommend other pain management treatments.
Our experienced Centers for Pain Control and Vein Care team has helped many patients overcome chronic pain with a spinal cord stimulator. Call the nearest office today or complete the online form to request an appointment.
