SCS involves an implanted device that sends electric pulses to the spinal cord, producing a form of paresthesia, or tingling sensation in the skin.
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“This is the first long-term study to compare the safety and effectiveness of high frequency and traditional SCS therapy for back and leg pain”, said Dr. Leonardo Kapural, the Wake Forest University School of Medicine professor of anesthesiology.
Of the 171 participants examined for the study, more than half received a high frequency form of SCS therapy, also known as HF10 therapy.
A recent study has shown that high-frequency spinal cord stimulation was almost twice as effective at treating chronic back and leg pain than more traditional low frequency methods.
Patients with chronic back and leg pain may be able to forgo the use of prescription painkillers thanks to a new treatment that has been shown to provide long-lasting analgesia. Findings were posted online in the journal Anesthesiology.
The study results revealed that the higher energy was much more effective at treating pain, which could make it the new standard. Traditional instruments only deliver 40 to 60 Hz in low-frequency SCS.
“Chronic back and leg pain have been considered hard to treat and pain relief options such as opioids have limited effectiveness and commonly known side effects”. None of them experienced paresthesia. The conclusion has been reached after scientists observed the medical condition and evolution of their patients suffering from back and leg pains. To check the efficiency of the treatment methods, the researchers assumed that a patient should experience a minimum of 50 percent reduction in back pain to be categorized as a suitable respondent to the treatment.
Experts found that those treated by the traditional way, 43.8% responded positively to back pain, and 55.5% for leg pain. Since approximately 23 – 26% of the global population suffers from lower back pain alone, the new therapy may be a worthy treatment.
For the study, researchers examined 171 different patients and understood the effectiveness of the high frequency SCS.
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High-frequency SCS, which is also called HF10, is not uncomfortable for the patient because there is no risk of parathesia, which is an abnormal, morbid sensation such as prickling or burning.
