Am I A Candidate for Spinal Cord Stimulation?

If you experience chronic pain from a spinal cord injury, past surgery, or neuropathy, spinal cord stimulation is an excellent interventional treatment option that might greatly enhance your quality of life. 

Finding the best pain management strategy for your chronic pain can be a long and tedious process, but specialists Haddis Hagos, MD, and Brent Earls, MD, have the necessary expertise to help you narrow down your options. At Pain Management Associates LLC in Greenbelt, Maryland, they take a multidisciplinary approach to bring you the best possible outcome. 

Alongside other helpful therapies such as physical therapy and massage, spinal cord stimulation with an implanted spinal cord stimulator subdues pain signals to ease discomfort and improve function for many people with chronic pain. Here, we explore spinal cord stimulation to find out if it’s a good fit for your care plan. 

How spinal cord stimulation works

Spinal cord stimulation uses an implanted device to transmit electrical signals into the epidural space around your spinal cord. The device consists of a small generator or battery pack along with two electrodes placed into the epidural space. During a minor surgery, the electrodes are placed and the generator is implanted under your skin, typically on the abdomen or buttocks. 

Using a remote control, you can activate your spinal cord stimulator when you feel pain. While experts continue to study how exactly a spinal cord stimulator works, they suspect that the tingling sensation caused by the stimulator overrides pain signals. This is explained by the gate control theory, which states that the spinal cord has a series of nerve “gates” that dictate which sensations can pass through to the brain. 

What spinal cord stimulation treats

Our experts at Pain Management Associates LLC use spinal cord stimulation to treat several different conditions that cause back pain, nerve pain, and other types of chronic pain. You might benefit from an implanted spinal cord stimulator if you have:

• Failed back surgery syndrome
• Chronic postoperative pain
• Chronic regional pain syndrome
• Radiculopathy
• Diabetic neuropathy
• Cancer-related neuropathy
• Arachnoiditis

Our experts may recommend spinal cord stimulation if less invasive therapies, like dietary modifications and topical medications, don’t offer a substantial improvement. 

What makes a good candidate

Dr. Hagos and Dr. Earls prescribe treatments for pain on a case-by-case basis and can determine whether or not you’re a good candidate for spinal cord stimulation. You might be a good candidate for an implanted spinal cord stimulator if you:

• Have already tried less invasive therapies without sufficient pain reduction
• Are in good psychiatric health
• Complete a successful spinal cord stimulator trial period
• Are actively engaged in your treatment by attending follow-ups and following instructions

To learn more about spinal cord stimulation and its potential benefits, call Pain Management Associates LLC or request an appointment online today.