What is neuromodulation?
Neuromodulation refers to a series of treatments that stimulate or administer medication directly to your body’s nervous system. In most cases, neuromodulation targets cells in the central and peripheral nervous systems.
There are three main types of neuromodulation:
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS)
Spinal cord stimulation refers to the electric stimulation of your spinal cord through a device to stop pain signals to your brain. In so doing, SCS replaces the pain with a tingling sensation.
This neuromodulator is best used in cases of pain management and is adjustable based on your pain level. It treats pain without relying on pain medication. As a result, you run fewer risks of experiencing medication-related side effects.
Deep brain and cortical stimulation
Deep brain stimulation delivers electrical current to the brain to treat various diseases, including Parkinson’s disease or epilepsy. Cortical stimulation is most often used to treat epilepsy, though your provider at Corvallis Pain Management might recommend it to treat neuropathic pain.
What conditions do neuromodulators treat?
Neuromodulators can treat a wide array of conditions, including:
- Spasticity
- Epilepsy
- Ischaemia
- Bowel and bladder dysfunction
- Spinal injuries
- Psychiatric disorders
- Parkinson’s disease
This list is certainly not exhaustive. Contact the team at Corvallis Pain Management to learn more about whether your condition qualifies for treatment through neuromodulation.
What are the side effects of neuromodulation?
There are multiple potential side effects to neuromodulation, though they depend on the treatment used and the condition being treated. Remember, neuromodulators are electronic devices, so side effects can include malfunctioning of the hardware or short-circuiting of the device. Your body might also react negatively to the device and reject its effects.
You should speak to your provider at Corvallis Pain Management to learn more about the side effects associated with each neuromodulator.
Call the office or schedule an appointment online today to learn more about neuromodulation, which has been a treatment of choice for the past two decades.