Jean Emerson of King 5 News Health Link recently aired a segment on a new type of device used for the treatment of severe, chronic back and leg pain. This device is called a Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) and it is manufactured by Nevro.
Jean’s segment entitled “Breakthrough In Treatment of Chronic Back Pain” can be found here.
Dr. Attaman has been offering the Nevro Spinal Cord Stimulation in Bellevue and Seattle since it was approved by the FDA, and has been finding very promising results in his patients.
The Nevro SCS system is unique in that it uses very high-frequency stimulation to provide pain relief. Nevro refers to this high-frequency stimulation as “HF10” stimulation. Prior SCS systems manufactured by other companies use much lower frequency stimulation. While patients can obtain excellent relief from both frequencies, patients using the lower frequency systems feel a “buzzing” or “tingling” sensation over the area of pain. Some patients find this bothersome, or even intolerable.
With the Nevro high-frequency SCS system, patients cannot feel any form of “buzzing” or “tingling.” They simply have pain relief. This is a very attractive option for people who have tried other SCS systems in the past and could not tolerate it, or simply did not have relief from it.
The high-frequency SCS system from Nevro also has one other advantage; it controls low back pain better than older SCS systems. While both SCS systems work very well for chronic leg and foot pain, the Nevro high-frequency SCS system also works very well and reliably for low back pain. Thus, patients suffering from low back pain alone, or low back pain in combination with leg and foot pain can benefit from this new therapy.
If you have chronic low back pain and/or leg and foot pain that has not responded to other forms of treatment, a SCS trial may be right for you.
About the Author: Jason G. Attaman, DO, FAAPMR
I tried another spinal cord stimulator company before, and it helped a little, but I did not like the tingling it caused. Will this system help me?
Dear J,
The nice thing about the Nevro high frequency SCS system is that it does not cause any tingling. In other words, you pain may be relieved, but you will not have any tingling associated with the SCS system. It is indeed possible this system may help you. Kind Regards, Dr. Attaman
I have PN. My doctor has discussed the possibility of a trial using Nevro. In addition to PN I also had a microdiscectomy 4 years ago. My sciatica symptoms gradually returned during my two year bout with PN. I have read several articles discussing the benefits of dorsal root ganglion stimulation. Do you see this system as one that may come closer to dealing with female pudendal neuralgia pain?
Dear Carroll,
Both Nevro and dorsal root ganglion stimulation have the chance of giving you pain relief. I’d be happy to see you in consultation to figure this out.
Kind Regards, Dr. Attaman
Can this be used for Pudendal Neuralgia pain (buttocks and genitals)?
Dear Mary,
Yes, I’ve had some success using Nevro for pudendal neuralgia pain. Best, Dr. Attaman
Will this device relieve neck pain?