A Spinal Cord Stimulator is like a pacemaker for your spine. It delivers tiny electrical impulses to your spinal column much like a pacemaker delivers impulses to the heart. These impulses short circuit and block the conduction of painful sensations which come from the spine and spinal nerves thereby helping with your pain.
A Spinal Cord Stimulator is an implanted device which is meant to give you a long term solution to your pain problem. There are two parts to the implant process. The first is a trial, where the leads (wires) are placed and tested, and the second is the implant of the generator (the pacemaker part).
The placement of the leads is a minor outpatient surgical procedure and is similar to having an epidural block. In fact, the needles are placed in the same position we would use to do an Epidural block, but instead of medicine, the leads are placed. They are then tested right there while you are on the table to achieve the best placement. The wires are placed beneath the skin and a special bandage is applied. You get to go home with a temporary device for a few days to see how it works for you.
If the spinal cord stimulator works well, the second stage of the procedure is to implant the generator under the skin. This is also a minor outpatient surgical procedure taking about one hour.
The recovery from this procedure is short. The incisions heal in about a week. There will be some soreness for a few days and that’s about all.
For many spinal conditions, the success rate is better than surgery while at the same time being much less invasive. For more information please see controlyourpain.com.
