Spinal Cord Stimulation Provides Relief for Sally Sherren’s Severe Back Pain
After being injured in a car accident left this grandmother with intense back pain, she found relief with Nevro’s HFX Spinal Cord Stimulation system.
Sally Sherren, a retired elementary school teacher and grandmother from Coopersburg, PA, was the victim of a rear-end car collision. She had multiple spine surgeries to address her lumbar radiculopathy – also known as nerve root compression. Despite that, she still was suffering from severe back pain that heavy doses of medication and intense physical therapy did not relieve.
“I had constant stabbing, shooting back pain,” Sally shares. “I couldn’t do normal activities like play with my granddaughter or drive three hours to see my mother. And nothing I tried helped reduce the pain.”
That all changed when she met Dr. Michael Rudman, an interventional pain management physician at Altair Health. Dr. Rudman recommended Sally try Nevro’s HFX Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) system on a trial basis. A spinal cord stimulator – which has been used to treat neuropathic back and leg pain for years – is an implanted device that sends low levels of electricity directly into the spinal cord to relieve pain. Delivering mild electric pulses to the nerves interrupts pain signals to the brain, alleviating pain and improving quality of life. If Sally got relief from the HFX Solution developed by Nevro, a California-based medical device company, she could have the system permanently implanted.
“The trial enables patients like Sally to try Nevro’s HFX Solution on a temporary week-long trial basis,” Dr. Rudman explains. “The trial system, which delivers the same therapy as the implanted device, consists of a simple procedure performed in our office. Thin, flexible wires – or leads – are placed beneath the patient’s skin next to the spine. The patient wears a temporary device that delivers stimulations customized to the patient’s pain to the leads under his/her clothes. If the patient experiences relief, he/she can have the system permanently implanted.”
Sally’s trial was a success. “The HFX trial gave me 85-90% relief. I couldn’t wait to get the permanent implant,” she shares. A month later, Sally had her HFX implant.
“The permanent implant is done during a quick minimally invasive procedure typically performed in an outpatient setting,” Dr. Rudman continues. “A small device is implanted under the skin, just above the beltline or in the buttocks area. It’s connected to thin, flexible wires, just like those used in the trial, that are placed near the spine. The patient goes home the same day. In certain cases, a larger lead – or paddle lead – may need to be surgically implanted.”
Sally is now back to life as she knew it before the car accident.
“I am now free to do the things I enjoy. I can play with my granddaughter who is now 14. I am way more relaxed and can sleep through the night without pain, something I couldn’t do before. This therapy was life changing. I encourage patients experiencing back pain to at least try it!”
The majority of HFX patients – 85% – enjoy long-term pain relief as well as improved sleep without the side effects of conventional treatments. HFX is not addictive, does not cloud thoughts, cause drowsiness or constipation like pain medications do.
The HFX Solution is also the only SCS system approved by the FDA to manage the shooting, burning and pins-and-needles pain associated with diabetic neuropathy.
For more information on the HFX Solution call 833.425.8247.