Pain Campaign Highlights Neurostimulation as Alternative

Neurostimulation continues to be investigated as an effective treatment for chronic pain patients.

As physicians, researchers, and pain management health professionals continue to seek alternatives to prescription drug treatments, groups like The Pain Truth (a campaign started in Florida to combat prescription drug abuse) are trying to bring more attention to these alternatives.

“Many patients assume that pain relief can only come in the form of a pill, but it's important for people to understand that there are drug-free options to obtain relief. Innovative procedures are available that bring long-lasting, pain-free results,” said Deborah Tracy, MD, president of the Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, the organization behind The Pain Truth campaign, in a press release.

Neurostimulation delivers low levels of electrical energy directly to nerve fibers through an implantable device.

Among the neurostimulation devices highlighted by The Pain Truth campaign is the Eon Mini, which is the world's smallest, longest-lasting, rechargeable neurostimulator. The Eon Mini neurostimulator is about the size of a US silver dollar and delivers mild electrical pulses to the spinal cord. The pulses interrupt or mask pain signals’ transmission to the brain.

“The type of neurostimulation that might be appropriate for a patient depends on many factors, including the cause of pain, its type, and location,” said Stanley Golovac, MD, an interventional pain physician based in South Florida who works with The Pain Truth, in a press release.

Golovac described neurostimulation as an "advanced" therapy that is used to relieve certain types of chronic pain. Patients that use neurostimulation usually have tried simpler options beforehand.