Feb 23, 2009 7:10 pm US/Eastern
New Help For Those Who Suffer From Chronic Pain
TAMARAC (CBS4) ―
Chronic pain is believed to be the costliest health problem in the United States due to loss of productivity, loss of income and compensation payments. While medication and physical therapy are the most common forms of treatment, some patients need more intense relief.
CBS4's Cynthia Demos tells us how one young local man has finally found relief with a pain stimulator.
At 34-years old, Brent Beasley has been dealing with chronic pain for more than a year.
"My dog scooted by knocked me down and I woke up on the floor with my dog hovered over me," said Beasley.
A fall down a flight of stairs left him with severe pain in his right foot which grew worse over time.
"It gradually got real bad and I started complaining of a pounding, throbbing, God it was just bad," explained Beasley.
Medication, nerve blocks and cortisone shots which are typically used to relieve pain didn't work for Beasley who ended up in a wheelchair. Pain management specialist Dr. Neil Weisman, with Anesthesia Pain Care Consultants in Tamarac, said for some patients with chronic pain determining the root of the problem means excluding certain conditions. Weisman suggested Beasley try a pain stimulator when the other treatments failed.
"We have a battery that provides the electrical current. We have wires which essentially carry that electrical current. These wires are placed in a certain region of the spine above the level of the spinal cord," said Weisman as he described how the pain stimulator works.
Once in place the electrical current interferes with pain signals and relieves discomfort. The patient can control the amount of current delivered based on the level of pain at any given time. With the use of a pain stimulator Beasley is able to undergo physical therapy because he's not in constant pain.
According to Weisman, "The hope is overtime that with those two therapies together that maybe the problem will go into remission."
For now Beasley is just grateful he's able to get relief when he needs it.
"When it's on I can walk which is the difference that I've seen. When I don't have it, it is incredible," he explained.
New stimulator designs these days allow the batteries to last longer reducing the number of surgeries needed to replace dead batteries. The devices have also been modified to diminish the chances of the body building up a tolerance to the treatment.
To contact the doctors at Anesthesia Pain Care Consultants call 954-720-3188 or visit
www.anesthesiapaincare.com.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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