Spinal Cord Stimulator Specialist

A spinal cord stimulator could offer relief from pain even when nothing else has worked. If you’ve tried everything to relieve long-term pain without success, talk to the pain medicine specialists at Alliance Spine Associates, LLC in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, about spinal cord stimulation. They offer spinal cord stimulator trials to ensure that the treatment’s right for you and permanent implantation when you’re ready. Call their office or book an appointment online today to discover how a spinal cord stimulator could free you from treatment-resistant pain.

What is a spinal cord stimulator?

A spinal cord stimulator is something your Alliance Spine Associates, LLC doctor can implant in your body. It has one or two leads that attach to your spinal nerves and an implantable pulse generator (IPG).

The stimulator uses mild pulses of electricity to disrupt the nerve signals in your spine. This disruption stops the nerves from sending pain messages to your brain. Instead of pain, you sense a mild tingling (paresthesia). This treatment is called neurostimulation.

Do I need a spinal cord stimulator?

You might need a spinal cord stimulator to reduce treatment-resistant pain. Chronic (long-lasting) pain in your back, neck, legs, and arms is often caused by spinal disorders like:

• Degenerative disc disease
• Herniated discs
• Spondylolisthesis (slipped vertebrae)
• Spinal stenosis (narrowed spinal canal)
• Osteoarthritis
• Sciatica
• Radiculopathy (spinal nerve compression)
• Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS)
• Post-laminectomy syndrome (failed back surgery)

Most patients at Alliance Spine Associates, LLC find conservative treatments like physical therapy and medication do an excellent job reducing their pain. But if these treatments don’t help you, cutting-edge epidural steroid injections and radiofrequency ablation often can. For those patients whose pain resists all treatments, spinal cord stimulation can be life-changing.

What does getting a spinal cord stimulator involve?

Getting a spinal cord stimulator involves a minor procedure to implant the IPG unit and leads. Before you commit to having a permanent spinal cord stimulator implantation, the Alliance Spine Associates, LLC team arranges a trial for you.

Your doctor implants temporary leads into your spine under anesthetic. You’ll be awake to tell your doctor when the leads produce the effect you want. Once the leads are in place, they connect to an external spinal cord stimulator that you wear on your belt. You increase or reduce the stimulator’s electrical signals to control your pain.

After trying the spinal cord stimulator for about a week, you return to Alliance Spine Associates, LLC to report on your experience. If you find the stimulator effective in reducing your pain and you’re happy managing the device, you can undergo permanent implantation.

The procedure for a permanent implant involves making a small cut in your skin for the IPG. Your doctor also exchanges the temporary leads for permanent ones. Although it’s called permanent implantation, you can have the IPG removed if any problem arises.

Call Alliance Spine Associates, LLC today or book an appointment online to learn more about spinal cord stimulator implantation and how it relieves pain.