Chronic Back Pain: Are You a Candidate for Spinal Cord Stimulation?

Most people have experienced back pain at some point. If you tweak your back while lifting a heavy object improperly or sleeping in an awkward position, your back can feel sore and stiff for a short period but should improve with rest and time — known as acute pain.

However, some people deal with severe and long-lasting back pain that lingers for months or even years. The pain may subside for a while, only to come roaring back a few days or weeks later. 

Chronic back pain can happen for many reasons, but no matter the cause, it can affect your quality of life. Dealing with chronic pain can start to affect your overall health, causing tense muscles, changes in appetite, limited mobility, and even depression or anxiety. 

If you have chronic back pain, it’s best to seek help from a pain management specialist such as Don Enty, MD, at Genesis Pain and Regenerative Medicine in Colleyville, Texas. Dr. Enty and the rest of our team have the knowledge and expertise necessary to get you the pain relief you so desperately need.

This month’s blog explores common causes of and solutions for chronic back pain and discusses when spinal cord stimulation might be the best treatment option.

What happens when you have chronic back pain

About 80% of Americans report dealing with some sort of back pain in their lifetime, and 10% of those have the chronic kind. In some cases, chronic back pain results from a major back injury that doesn’t quite heal properly, but in the majority of chronic back pain instances, it’s due to overuse, repetitive strain, spinal degeneration, arthritis, or repeatedly poor posture. 

Unfortunately, chronic pain affects the communication between your brain and nervous system. When you have pain or an injury, your nervous system sends signals to your brain that something’s wrong. But when pain lasts too long, your nervous system gets confused, sending constant or random pain signals.

When it might be time for spinal cord stimulation

The first lines of treatment for chronic back pain include:

• Physical therapy 
• Epidural steroid injections
• Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection therapy 
• Nerve block injections

Injections reduce pain so that you can perform physical therapy exercises more efficiently, encouraging better healing and strengthening your back. 

However, if these treatments aren’t effective, you may be a candidate for spinal cord stimulation. A spinal cord stimulator is a pain management treatment that uses electrodes connected to a generator. It sends bursts of low-voltage electricity to your spine to block incorrect pain signals that are so often the culprit of chronic pain. 

To qualify for a permanent spinal cord stimulator, you must first undergo a trial period. During this stage, we place a few wire leads connected to electrodes in your spine and leave the generator outside your body. 

For a week, you practice sending electricity via the generator whenever you feel pain. If the device reduces your pain by at least 50%, we can implant the spinal cord stimulator permanently. 

To learn more about spinal cord stimulation or any of our other pain management options, schedule an appointment with our team by calling our office or booking online today.