Marie Brace
A significant percentage of the American population experiences pain from injury, auto accidents, or medical conditions. While the pain often goes away with traditional treatments, the pain becomes chronic for some people. Finding an effective treatment that relieves your debilitating pain can sometimes be challenging and leave you devastated. Dr. William L Yancey, an interventional pain specialist at Yancey Pain & Spine in The Woodlands and Houston, TX, offers innovative pain treatments such as spinal cord. Read on for more information about spinal cord stimulation and how you can benefit from it.
What Exactly Is Spinal Cord Stimulation?
This innovative procedure involves installing an implant device that gives pain relief to patients who have not gotten relief from traditional methods. The device transmits mild electric impulses to your spinal cord, shielding your pain sensations and preventing signals from getting to your brain. Spinal cord stimulation can help to relieve chronic pain resulting from different conditions. These include; nerve pain, postsurgical pain, back pain, phantom limb pain, and complex regional pain syndrome.
Are You a Right Candidate for Spinal Cord Stimulation?
When you go for treatment of a chronic pain condition, the doctor will determine if you are the right candidate for spinal cord stimulation. The treatment is effective in relieving many forms of chronic pain. However, you are only a perfect candidate for spinal cord stimulation if other conservative treatments have failed to relieve your pain, you are not an ideal candidate for surgery, you don’t want to undergo surgery, you don’t have depression, or you get pain relief during a spinal cord stimulation trial. Your doctor will evaluate you on whether you qualify for spinal cord stimulation.
What Occurs During a Spinal Cord Stimulation Trial?
Before implanting the spinal cord stimulation device in your body, your pain specialist will need you to undertake a trial. The trial can be done at the office. The doctor puts the trial leads under your skin and over the nerves that cause your pain. The trial lead is attached to a spinal cord stimulation device on your clothes. Your doctor will then give you precise instructions on how to use the device. You will have a log to track your pain levels and daily activities. Your spinal cord stimulation trial takes around 4 to 7 days.
What Should You Expect During the Spinal Cord Stimulation Procedure?
If you pass your spinal cord stimulation trial, you become a perfect candidate for spinal cord stimulation surgery. The doctor will discuss the specifics of the procedure with you during pre-surgical consultation, so you know what occurs during the procedure and how to prepare. The Yancey Pain & Spine team uses minimally-invasive techniques to reduce scarring and recovery time. After successfully placing the spinal stimulation device, most patients get long-term pain relief.
Do not struggle with chronic pain anymore. Spinal cord stimulation can help your get pain relief, particularly if you can’t get relief from conservative treatments. At Yancey Pain & Spine, the doctor uses a customized technique for spinal cord stimulation that integrates therapy to match your lifestyle and needs. Call or book an appointment online at Yancey Pain & Spine today to find out if you are the right candidate for spinal cord stimulation.
