It is common for you to feel pain in some parts of your body that happens regularly and does not seem to disappear. This chronic pain may be too uncomfortable to be able to perform your daily activities with ease. However, several treatment plans may be able to help in managing the pain. An example of such a treatment plan is spinal cord stimulation Houston. This type of treatment and what it entails are discussed further below.

What is Spinal cord stimulation?

This is a method of therapy that aims at blocking pain indicators before they get to the brain. A tiny device transmits electrical waves to your spinal cord.

This treatment reduces the need for opioid medications as chronic pain is managed better. If you are undergoing regular leg, back, or arm pain and have not gotten relief from other therapies, this method may prove effective.

A spinal cord stimulator device is typically placed beneath your skin and sends electric currents to the spinal cord. There are slender wires that transport current to the nerve endings of the spinal cord from a pulse generator. When the device is started, the nerves in the pain areas are stimulated, reducing the pain by modifying the signal that reaches your brain.

Some SCC devices use a low-frequency current to replace the feeling of pain with a tingling feeling. Other devices do not produce any tingling feeling, with some devices having options of switching between the two.

This stimulation does not eliminate the pain source but changes how the brain interprets it. Therefore, pain elimination varies among different people. The device aims at reducing the pain by at least half. However, even a tiny amount of pain relief can enable you to perform daily activities comfortably without pain medications. Muscle strength is also not improved.

The stimulation sensation may be unpleasant for some people, while others may not get pain reduction in the whole area. Thus, a trial simulation for about a week may be done to determine whether the device works for you. If not, the wires may be removed without damage to the nerves or spinal cord.

SCS device systems are of different types, but they all have three main parts, including:

•         A lead wire with several electrodes to transport electrical pulses to your spinal cord
•         A device that generates pulses through an in-house battery
•         Remote control that can be hand-held to adjust settings and turn the device on and off

Depending on the usage, batteries that cannot be charged need surgical replacement after at least three years. Those that can be charged may last for up to eight years, provided you charge the system daily.

Some devices have generators with programmable settings that may be used to sense changes in body position, thus adjusting the level of stimulation to the activity.

The spinal cord stimulator is a proven method of dealing with chronic pain. This may, however, not be everyone’s preference; thus, the trial period is crucial. Check us out online, or call our Houston, TX offices for any inquiries.