Alternatives to Spinal Stimulator Failure

Sometimes, chronic back and leg pain becomes so severe that a pain management doctor will suggest the trial use of a spinal cord stimulator, or an SCS. An SCS is a small battery-powered device implanted at the spine that transmits an electrical current to your spinal cord, blocking pain impulses. However, recent results of spinal cord stimulation show good to excellent long-term relief in only 40 to 70 percent of patients suffering from chronic pain. However, patients whose spinal cord stimulator trial fails still have options in treating their pain.

Pain Medication or Injections

• Chances are, you're already on medication for your chronic back or leg pain, but if a spinal cord stimulator has failed to alleviate your pain, your doctor can adjust your medication or try new medication. Often, pain management doctors will suggest epidural pain injections as an alternative treatment. According to Dr. Paul Dreyfuss with Spine Universe, this outpatient procedure injects anti-inflammatory medicine into the epidural space to decrease inflammation of the nerve roots, with the goal of reducing pain in your back or legs. It may also help your injury heal by reducing inflammation.

Surgery

• Surgery is never considered unless conservative treatments have failed, according to the Mayo Clinic. Back surgery is usually reserved for patients who have compressed spinal nerves, which causes numbness along the back of the leg. "To relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves, surgeons can remove portions of bone to widen the narrowed area in the vertebrae," the Mayo Clinic reports. "Removing the gel-like interior of ruptured disks also helps relieve pressure on pinched nerves. Sometimes the entire disk must be removed, with the adjoining vertebral bodies fused together surgically." Talk to your pain management doctor for a referral to an orthopedic surgeon to determine whether surgery is a viable option for you.