What Is a Peripheral Nerve Stimulator?
This device commonly known as PNS uses neurostimulation to treat chronic pain by sending gentle electrical impulses to a specific group of peripheral nerves surrounding the spinal cord and brain to interrupt pain signals before they reach the brain.
What Do Peripheral Nerve Stimulators Treat?
A nerve stimulator relieves chronic pain originating from different areas of the body like limbs, hands, and feet.
How Does the Procedure Work?
First a temporary trial of the device will determine the effectiveness of the treatment and if changes need to be made.
A patient will lay on their stomach and receive local anesthesia to prevent them from feeling pain and discomfort. A small incision is made on the back and metal wires, also called leads, are fed through a catheter to the affected nerves. The leads are temporarily placed near the spinal cord and connected to an external stimulator called an Implant Pulse Generator (IPG). A physician and representative from the device company will keep track of the patient’s pain relief levels.
After a successful trial, the physician will permanently install the device. The IPG device is implanted under the skin and connected with the wires. An external Therapy Disc powers the IPG and patients can control the device using their smartphones.
What Are the Risks?
This is a minimally-invasive procedure so the risks are low, but on rare occasions, the device can disconnect or malfunction. All types of surgeries have a risk for things such as infection and blood loss.
Benefits of Peripheral Nerve Stimulators
Nerve stimulators treat chronic pain at the source, and can remove the need for oral medications over time, plus patients have the ability to control how often electrical pulses are sent to the nerves. Additionally, the IPG device under the skin is battery-free so there is no need for replacement surgeries.
For more information about the Nalu peripheral stimulator, visit the Nalu Medical website.