About 80% of men and women in the United States experience lower back pain. Fortunately, most back pain resolves on its own. Unfortunately, about 20% of those men and women experience it chronically.
Chronic back pain is defined as pain that lasts three months or longer. The pain may come and go, increase in intensity, or decrease over time. If you’re experiencing chronic back pain, The Spine Center of Louisiana may be able to relieve your pain with spinal cord stimulation.
What are the causes of chronic back pain?
Chronic back pain can interfere with your daily activities and quality of life. It can come because of a traumatic injury or because of overuse. Common causes of chronic back pain include:
- A sprain or strain
- Disc degeneration
- Herniated or ruptured disk
- Radiculopathy
- Sciatica
- Spondylolisthesis
- Spinal stenosis
If your back pain won’t go away, come in to The Spine Center of Louisiana so one of our highly skilled doctors can diagnose the cause and give you treatment options.
What are the treatment options for chronic back pain?
Treatment options for your chronic back pain may include physical therapy, pain medication, injections, and lifestyle modifications. If these treatments don’t reduce your lower back pain, spinal cord stimulation may be an option for you.
A spinal cord stimulator, which is implanted under your skin, delivers a targeted, low-voltage electrical current to your spinal cord to interfere with the pain signals. While this device will not heal or cure your back pain, it may be able to reduce or mask it. By reducing your pain, you may be able to resume many of the activities you couldn’t before. Additionally, the device may be able to reduce your need for opioids to manage your pain.
Is a spinal cord stimulator right for me?
To help you decide if you want a spinal cord stimulator, you can test it out to see if it works before getting one implanted permanently. Your doctor can insert a trial device and adjust your stimulation settings to see if it helps you.
If the device substantially reduces your pain, your doctor can implant a permanent device. If it ceases to be effective at any time, your doctor can remove it. As with any surgery, there are risks, such as bleeding and infection.
To find out if a spinal cord stimulator can help relieve your back pain, request an appointment online or over the phone with The Spine Center of Louisiana today.