A surprising number of people suffer from conditions that can be treated with peripheral nerve stimulation. Unfortunately, many people are not aware of the benefits that it can provide. In fact, scientific studies have found that it helps with a wide variety of things, including reducing pain scores.
What exactly is peripheral nerve stimulation? What are the other conditions that it can help manage or treat?
Read on to learn all about the most important things to understand about peripheral nerve stimulation and the benefits that it might be able to provide for your unique situation!
What Does a Peripheral Nerve Stimulator Do?
Peripheral nerve stimulation uses electricity to stimulate damaged nerves in your body. This electricity is delivered via electrodes that run along damaged peripheral nerves. That is where the term peripheral nerve stimulation comes from.
The nerves in the body carry sensations. These sensations include pain. Stimulating the nerves with electricity can serve to do something like flood the nerve with sensation so that it cannot carry other sensations.
This comes in handy when nerves are pathologically delivering unhelpful sensations. In many cases, that means chronic pain that does not helpfully warn you against participating in harmful activities that will damage your body.
Peripheral nerve stimulation is a great way to overwhelm any pain sensation that your nerves are carrying. It replaces that pain with a neutral sensation of tingling instead.
Peripheral nerve stimulation can carry electrical energy that is stronger or weaker. Depending on your particular situation, you might benefit from one level of stimulation more than another.
Alternatively, you might find that one level of stimulation works best sometimes and other levels of stimulation work best at other times.
You can adjust how much your peripheral nerve stimulator stimulates your nerves at any given time. That way, you can find the appropriate amount of stimulation for you at that moment.
What Benefits Can the Best Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Maryland Has Available Provide?
There are many common peripheral nerve stimulator uses. However, one of the most common ones is the treatment of peripheral neuropathy.
Peripheral neuropathy often produces pain, tingling, or numbness in the body. Some people try to treat these sensations, especially pain, with opioids.
Unfortunately, that leaves them vulnerable to addiction. Peripheral nerve stimulation is a far better treatment for peripheral neuropathy.
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The Origins of Peripheral Neuropathy
People can develop peripheral neuropathy in many ways. For example, some people develop it by not getting enough vitamins in their diet or because they are developing diabetes. Other people develop peripheral neuropathy via excessive consumption of alcohol over a long period of time.
In other cases, people develop peripheral neuropathy no matter what they do. It might be the result of an autoimmune disease. Or they might develop it because they have suffered bodily trauma of some kind.
Some people also develop peripheral neuropathy because of a medication
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Other Benefits
However, peripheral nerve stimulation can help manage many other conditions as well.
Peripheral nerve stimulation can treat many kinds of nerve pain. This might include back and neck pain. It can include some forms of post-surgical pain.
This also covers options like pain due to traumatic nerve damage. Some people even use it to help them manage pain after having a limb amputated.
Peripheral nerve stimulation can also help treat types of neuralgia. These can include both occipital neuralgia and herpetic neuralgia.
Some people are looking at peripheral nerve stimulation as a way to help treat addiction. Many people are addicted to drugs that help them decrease their pain. If nerve stimulation can eliminate their pain, it can make it easier to quit their addiction.
How Does Peripheral Nerve Stimulator Placement Work?
Getting peripheral nerve stimulation treatment starts with surgery. A peripheral nerve stimulation doctor in Maryland will place a stimulator under your skin. They will try to place it as close to your relevant nerves as possible.
These stimulators are similar to pacemakers in some ways. They have their own batteries. You can go about your life normally while using them.
When you turn on your stimulator, it will cause a buzzing sensation. For some people, this does nothing. For others, it helps reduce their pain.
If your stimulator helps you, you can keep it. Otherwise, you can have it removed. Most people try it for about seven days before deciding if they will keep it.
Regardless, the surgical procedure is simple and short. You can generally finish it within less than two hours.
People receiving the surgery will generally use a local anesthetic. If necessary, you can use a general anesthetic as well. However, this simple surgery usually does not require a general anesthetic.
Does Getting a Peripheral Nerve Stimulator Implant Come With Any Side Effects?
This surgery can cause some bleeding. You might also be unlucky enough to develop an infection. And of course, there is some chance that you will develop a scar.
In rare cases, you might develop more nerve damage. Much more likely is that your stimulator will simply not work. However, even this is a very unlikely outcome.
Peripheral nerve stimulator surgery is simple. It generally causes no serious side effects.
Understand the Most Important Benefits of Peripheral Nerve Stimulation
We hope learning about what peripheral nerve stimulation might be able to do for you has been helpful to you. Many people struggle with chronic pain and other conditions for many years without becoming fully aware of their options for treatment and management. Peripheral nerve stimulation can be a great option when you were dealing with a condition that resists other forms of treatment.
Learning more about peripheral nerve stimulation can help you decide if it might be the right choice for your situation. To learn more about why your situation might or might not be ideal for peripheral nerve stimulation, or to speak with experts in chronic pain and spinal conditions, feel free to reach out and get in touch with us here at any time!