Peripheral Nerve Stimulation for Back Pain: What to Expect

For many of the 80% of Americans who experience back pain, the symptoms go beyond a brief or occasional annoyance. Chronic back pain, which lasts for three months or longer, can disrupt your moods and sleep, cause absences and poor productivity at work, and lead to disability if you don’t get treatment.

If conservative care hasn’t sufficiently eased your back pain, you may want to consider peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS). 

Our expert team at Houston Pain Specialists, led by board-certified pain management specialist Hui Kang, MD, is pleased to offer this minimally invasive back pain treatment for good candidates.

Take a few moments to learn more about back pain, including what to expect from PNS.

What causes back pain

A range of injuries and chronic conditions can cause or exacerbate back pain. Wear-and-tear from overuse or the natural aging process also frequently plays a role. 

Back pain causes we regularly see in our office include:

• Bulging or ruptured discs
• Forms of arthritis, such as osteoarthritis (OA)
• Post-surgical back pain
• Osteoporosis
• Strained muscles or ligaments
• Scoliosis

Other back pain causes include infections, tumors, fractures, spinal stenosis, and spondylosis. 

Some of these conditions, such as disc herniation, muscle strains, and fractures, occur suddenly after lifting a heavy object incorrectly or enduring an auto accident. Others, such as OA, develop gradually over years, or even decades.

How peripheral nerve stimulation helps back pain

Peripheral nerve stimulation uses mild electrical impulses to interrupt pain signals to your brain. During a minimally invasive procedure, we place a small device near the problematic nerves. 

At Houston Pain Specialists, we use the Nalu Medical device for PNS. Its compact size, easy customization, and advanced technology make it both discreet and effective for reducing chronic back pain. 

PNS for back pain results

Most of our patients who receive PNS notice significantly less pain soon after the device is activated.

You may find that PNS alleviates your pain completely or reduces it enough to improve your quality of life. One study showed that PNS reduced low back pain in adults by over 60%, on average. 

Effective PNS treatment may also allow you to rely less on other back pain treatments, such as oral medication, and make exercise and physical therapy more feasible and effective.

To learn more about peripheral nerve stimulation for back pain or get started toward relief, contact our Houston, Texas, office today to schedule an appointment. 

If it turns out that PNS isn’t ideal for you, we can recommend alternate treatments, such as epidural steroid injections or, for severe cases, surgery. We can also recommend helpful lifestyle changes you haven’t yet considered.