A patient had previous back surgery in the 1980’s, and has been suffering with moderate to severe back and leg pain ever since. After a trial with Abbott’s BurstDR stimulation, the patient received 100% pain relief in the back and 75% pain relief in the legs. The patient was recently implanted by Dr. Raymond Tatevossian of Comprehensive Spine & Pain Physicians across T8&9 and BurstDR stimulation has been continued.
Neurostimulation (also called spinal column stimulation or SCS) has been recommended by doctors for over 50 years to help people manage chronic pain and improve quality of life. One the most advanced forms of spinal column stimulation is BurstDR™ stimulation: a revolutionary new chronic pain treatment unique to Abbott neurostimulators.
BurstDR™ stimulation is best for patients whose pain is more broadly spread in the trunk and/or limbs. It works by mimicking natural patterns found in the brain. Studies show that BurstDR stimulation may not only improve your ability to perform everyday activities but also may relieve the emotional suffering that pain can cause. The result: relief from pain and the chance to reclaim your life.
A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO A DIFFERENT KIND OF PAIN
When you feel chronic pain, it is because your nerves are sending pain signals to your brain. BurstDR™ stimulation works by altering the pain signals as they travel to the brain. The superior pain relief provided by BurstDR stimulation has been proven to improve patient’s lives by:
- Reduce patients’ emotional suffering associated with the pain
- Improving patients’ ability to perform everyday activities
- Be preferred by more patients
IS BURSTDR™ STIMULATION RIGHT FOR YOU?
If you have been living with chronic pain and your current pain relief therapies are not working, ask your physician if BurstDR™ Stimulation may be an option for you. It may be an option for you if you have:
- Chronic pain in your back, arms, or legs lasting at least six months.
- Neuropathic pain (burning, tingling, or numbness).
- Found little or no relief from other treatments, such as pain medications, nerve blocks, physical therapy or surgery.
HOW BURSTDR™ STIMULATION WORKS
BurstDR™ stimulation works to reduce pain by altering by the pain signals as they travel to the brain BURSTDR™ STIMULATION IS clinically proven to improve peoples’ ability to perform everyday activities and reduce emotional suffering associated with pain.
- Pain signals travel up the spinal cord to the brain.
- A generator, similar to a cardiac pacemaker, sends pulses to a thin wire called a lead.
- The lead delivers these pulses to nerves along the spinal cord.
- The pulses modify the pain signals as they travel to different parts of the brain.
- The pulses change the way your body perceives pain—providing potential relief from physical pain as well as the suffering associated with pain.
The generator is a small device implanted in your body. It produces mild electrical pulses to manage your pain.
The leads are thin wires that deliver the electrical pulses from the generator to the nerves along the spinal cord responsible for your pain.
The patient controller is a handheld device that allows you to adjust the strength of the stimulation or turn it off entirely. The patient controller for Abbott’s latest neurostimulators features an Apple iPod touch mobile digital device.
START WITH A TEMPORARY EVALUATION
One of the advantages of a neurostimulator is that you can try the therapy using a temporary system before committing to an implanted system.
SCS therapy is not right for everyone. Only your doctor or pain specialist at Comprehensive Spine & Pain Physicians can determine if SCS may work for you. SCS is not advised if you are unable to operate the system or do not receive effective pain relief during the temporary evaluation. Talk to your doctor about complications related to the procedure and/or device, which include infection, swelling, bruising, undesirable changes in stimulation and loss of strength or use in an affected limb or muscle group (e.g., paralysis).