SPINAL CORD STIMULATORS
Treatment for chronic back pain from failed back surgery syndrome
How a Spinal Cord Stimulator works to relieve chronic low back pain
Other serious pain problems can relate to spine surgery that failed to relieve symptoms which then created a chronic pain problem called “failed back surgery syndrome.” For these patients, spine surgery may have created scarring around a nerve root creating constant pain symptoms.
For these patients, lifelong dependence on drugs is not the ideal solution. One option for this type of chronic back pain from failed back surgery syndrome is the use of a spinal cord stimulator which works on the “gate theory” of pain.
Pain symptoms in the low back can feel like a uncomfortable pulse or wave of pain that is received in the brain. The pain specialist implants small device — the size of a pacemaker — with electrodes placed near the pain generator in the low back. The pain physician, using feedback from the patient, positions the electrodes to the level that provides the most pain relief and then programs the electronic device that is connected wirelessly to an external programming unit.
The stimulator is programmed to send an electric pulse to the low back at the same time as the wave of pain is being transmitted to the brain. Instead of a sharp pain telegraphed to the brain, the spinal cord stimulator masks the pain signal so that it feels more like a tingle which can be better managed by the patient.
Copyright © 2025 Prizm Development • Centers of Excellence for Better Healthcare
Dr. Robert Hannahan is a board-certified anesthesiologist who has specialized in pain management for over 30 years in the Northwest Florida and South Alabama region. He has pain management offices across the Gulf Coast of Florida, including Panama City, FL; Port St. Joe, FL; Enterprise, Alabama; and Dothan, Alabama. Dr. Hannahan is referred pain patients that suffer from back pain, neck pain, knee pain, hip pain, cancer pain and diabetic neuropathy.