How to Manage Chronic Pain With Spinal Cord Stimulation Treatment

Experiencing chronic pain and not finding relief can make you feel devastated. You can experience chronic pain after a leg injury, back injury, spinal cord injury, and nerve injury. You can have your injuries treated through medication and surgery, but the pain can be severe even after the treatments. The good news is that spinal cord stimulation in Eugene at Pacific Sports and Spine can help manage your chronic pain.

Why go for spinal cord stimulation?

Spinal cord stimulation is reversible, unlike other surgical procedures. After your pain is gone, you can decide to discontinue using the therapy. Your doctor will remove all the devices without making a permanent change on your spine.

The procedure is minimally invasive because your doctor makes only one incision to insert the required device and uses a hollow needle to place it underneath your skin.

The procedure targets pain relief within the affected area rather than medication which affects your whole body and can potentially cause some issues unconnected to the pain.

Your pain relief can be adjustable through the modern devices’ help with pain relief adjustment options depending on your pain’s severity.

Through Spinal cord stimulation, you will experience limited side effects compared to other medications. Your pain relief lasts for many years, thus reducing your regular visits to the clinic.

Spinal cord stimulation procedure

Before you undergo the spinal cord stimulation procedure, you will talk about your condition with your doctor to develop a suitable management plan for you. Your doctor will discuss with you the two stages of the spinal cord stimulation procedure. The initial stage is a trial stage, and the second is a permanent stage.

During the trial stage, your doctor will use the hollow needles to temporarily place the lead in your spine to check if you can withstand the tingling sensation and determine its effectiveness. It will take one week to test the efficacy of the implant, and you will be in the comfort of your own home.

After one week, you will go back to your doctor and share the experience. If the result is positive, your doctor will proceed with the second stage, which is permanent. The procedure is outpatient, but your doctor may recommend staying overnight for close observation, depending on your condition.

Your doctor will make a small incision on your back and permanently implant the stimulator device under your skin, either in your abdominal or buttocks area. Your doctor will also use a needle to place the lead underneath your skin. The simulator is scarcely seen underneath your skin, and it uses a rechargeable battery with a life span of five to ten years.

Recovery after the spinal cord stimulation procedure

·         Since your doctor will use a local anesthetic, it will help manage your pain after your procedure for one and a half days.

·          Avoid twisting, bending, or doing vigorous activities and lifting heavy objects for two weeks after your procedure. It is advisable to take a rest and focus on moderate walking.

·         For actual healing and preventing infection in your incision sites, you will be required to keep the treatment site clean and dry.

Chronic pain should not give you sleepless nights any longer. Call or book an appointment online with Pacific Sports and Spine to embark on your journey to healing.