#Spinal cord dorsal column stimulator trial

One of the best parts about a spinal cord stimulator is that you actually get to start with a 1-week trial run with temporary wires and an external battery before you commit to a permanent implantation. When activated by an external remote device that you control, the electrical current alters the pain messages being sent to your brain, and can actually help to heal those nerves over time so that they stop producing pain. From that power source, which is typically placed in your lower flank region near your low back, a lead wire with electrodes carries the electrical stimulation to nerve fibers in the epidural space of your spinal cord. It is essentially a pacemaker for your pain. Shah implants a small device in your body that emits a mild electrical current.

When other interventional treatments haven’t worked, and surgery or repeat surgery isn’t an option, spinal cord stimulation goes straight to the source of your pain - your nerves.Īfter a 7-day minimally invasive, temporary, and external trial procedure shows success with the device, Dr. Shah may recommend spinal cord stimulation or dorsal root ganglion stimulation. When you have chronic pain from nerve damage, pain after neck surgery, pain after back surgery, or other complex nerve pain from trauma Dr. Shah specializes in the most advanced treatments such as minimally invasive lumbar decompression (MILD), Vertiflex Superion Interspinous spacer, and regenerative medicine (including platelet-rich plasma injections and stem cell therapy). He offers hope to people throughout New Jersey battling with pain that just won’t quit and won’t respond to conservative treatments.Īs a board-certified physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) as well as Pain Medicine, Dr. Shah at SamWell Institute for Pain Management. And that’s a bad cycle to fall into because these mental disorders also exacerbate your pain.īefore your condition spirals out of control, come see Dr. If that sounds like a depressing situation, you’re right - studies show that chronic pain causes depression and anxiety in up to 50% of sufferers. Unlike acute pain that goes away when you heal, chronic pain sticks around for months or years.

Spinal cord dorsal column stimulator