DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATOR EXPLAINED GENERATOR
DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATOR EXPLAINED SKIN
DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATOR EXPLAINED TRIAL

In 1971 the first SCS was implanted delivering low-voltage electrical currents to the back of the spinal cord where the ‘spinal pain gates’ lie, providing pain relief. Naturally occurring electricity has been used to treat pain for thousands of years. Introduction to spinal cord stimulation (SCS) About SCS Neuropathic pain is a type of unhelpful chronic pain originating in the nervous system and often resistant to conventional treatment (including medications and good pain management skills) but can be eased by spinal cord stimulation (SCS). The natural analgesic centres in the brain, which thrives on upbeat messages, wane. Consequent tiredness, boredom, depression and worry make the pain even harder to cope with. Misdirected problem-solving (poor pain management skills) can develop, leading to further distress and physical disability. Unless rationale and positive thoughts and behaviours (good pain management skills) are adopted, the healed tissue remains sensitised, which fuels this on-going unhelpful pain mechanism. When faced with on-going signals in pain pathways, the brain assumes they are a threat and a sign of on-going injury and so a person adopts protective behaviours. About chronic painĬhronic pain is unhelpful as it is both unpleasant and exists even when harm or damage is excluded by various tests including medical assessment. However, for reasons not yet fully understood, pain can continue beyond the expected healing time, despite efforts to relieve it. Slow dull pain is felt afterwards and serves to promote protective behaviours to enable healing to complete. About acute painįast sharp pain is felt during stimulus or injury. It then forwards impulses to other areas of the brain with the purpose of taking immediate action and making sense of them. The brain then recognises these impulses and categorises them as painful and does it’s best to judge their origin. Pain impulses travel from the point of origin along pain pathways into the spinal cord and then to the brain. The patient can then adjust the type of pain relief needed for various situations.Introduction to pain About pain transmission The leads are then tunneled to the generator, allowing current to flow.Īfter the procedure, the doctor programs a small hand-held controller that sends signals to the generator.

DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATOR EXPLAINED SKIN

Next, the surgeon creates a pocket between the skin and the muscle in the upper buttock or chest, and implants a small generator. When coverage is complete, the person is sedated again. Once the leads are in place, the person is awakened and asked to provide feedback on whether all areas of pain are covered. This makes room for the larger leads often used in permanent spinal cord stimulation.

DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATOR EXPLAINED TRIAL

Permanent implantation is similar to the trial period process, but with some extra steps.įirst, an incision may be made to allow removal of part of the lamina-a small bone over the back of the spinal cord. If the person decides that the trial has provided sufficient pain relief, the next step is to implant a permanent spinal cord stimulator. The person then tries spinal cord stimulation for several days. Next, the tube is extracted, and the leads are left in place.

Adjustments are made by the doctor to ease all the pain, and the person is again sedated. The patient is then awakened and asked to give feedback on where additional current is needed for pain control.

DORSAL COLUMN STIMULATOR EXPLAINED GENERATOR

Next, the leads are attached to a generator outside the body. The area where the leads are placed is called the epidural space. Next, thin wires with electrodes attached-called leads-are inserted into the space surrounding the spinal cord via a thin hollow tube. The person is sedated, given a local anesthetic, or both. The first step in the process is a trial period of spinal cord stimulation. Spinal cord stimulation for chronic back pain uses electrical pulses to stimulate nerves in the spinal cord, with the goal of interfering with the path of pain signals as they travel to the brain.

Dorsal column stimulator explained