For more than 50 years, nerve stimulation has been used as a treatment for chronic pain. The technology was initially used to block pain signals at the spinal cord. Innovation and scientific advancements have made it possible to customize this therapy to the peripheral nerves of the arms and legs.
If you have chronic pain, peripheral nerve stimulation can help. It uses electrical pulses to disrupt pain signals. It may reduce your need for pain medications. Here's how it works.
To determine if you’re a good candidate, the CPMP | Comprehensive Pain Management Partners team of spine and pain management specialists will meet with you, discuss treatment risks, benefits and alternatives. If you don’t want surgery or have tried and failed conservative measures, we may recommend peripheral nerve stimulation for you. This is a three-step process. First, we perform and image guided nerve block, placing local anesthetic (numbing medicine) around the nerve in question to see if your pain goes away. If your pain is eliminated temporarily, then you may be a good candidate for a trial of peripheral nerve stimulation where you get to try the therapy before getting the final procedure.
We use the diagnostic nerve block and trial procedure to show who will get relief. It is the one area of medicine where you get to try the therapy and see if it is successful before having the permanent procedure.
Stimulation does not work for everyone and if you don’t get relief during the diagnostic nerve block a trial you will not be offered.
A small percentage of patients may experience: hardware failure, loss of effectiveness, allergic reaction to the device, lead removal, and biological complications such as increased pain, and skin erosion. Sophisticated neuromodulation devices, doctor expertise, sterile operating conditions and image guidance keep complications to a minimum.
Your doctor and staff will explain what to expect before, during, and after the treatment. If you want sedation for your procedure, your doctor will advise you to avoid eating or drinking anything for eight hours before the procedure and to have a responsible adult drive you home. You are welcome to do the procedure awake, under local anesthesia if you would prefer. You may need to stop taking certain medicines (blood thinners) several days before your procedure.
All our injections are performed in the sterile operating room using image guidance. You will first be comfortably positioned and monitors to check your vital signs will be placed. Oxygen will be given to you if you get sedation. After a sterile cleaning of the site to be injected, sedation will be given if desired. Then local anesthesia will be used to numb the skin. The epidural needle will be placed using image guidance and confirmed with contrast dye. Medication will then be administered and needles removed. Bandages will be placed and you will be taken to the recovery room until you are ready for discharge home.
