While electricity has been used to manage pain for centuries, spinal cord stimulators were not introduced until the early 1970s. By the beginning of the 21st century, they were used to provide pain relief for patients with terminal cancer, refractory angina and peripheral vascular disease. Less than two decades later, scientists are reporting that spinal cord stimulation brings movement to paraplegics.
This is exciting news for people who are paralyzed. The treatment may even restore movement to individuals years after the injury. Four people with paraplegia have been able to voluntarily move knees, ankles and toes while using the devices. The effect was enhanced when combined with physical rehabilitation.
In 27th century B. C. Egypt, Egyptian physicians were treating their pain patients by introducing them to torpedo fish, which have similar electrical properties to the common electric eel. Scribonium Largus, 47 AD physician to Emperor Claudius of Rome, was applying the fish to painful areas of his patient's body. Back then, people suffering from gout were advised to place living torpedo fish beneath their feet while standing on a sandy, wet beach.
It was not until 1965, when pain specialists Melzack and Wall introduced the gate theory of pain control, that scientists began to understand the neural mechanisms behind the effectiveness of electrotherapy. They proposed that nerves carrying the sensations of touch and vibration and the nerves that transmit painful impulses both terminated in the same region of the spinal cord, the dorsal horn. According to this theory, by activating the non-painful sensory pathways, the "gate" could be closed to painful stimuli.
Results of the study, which was an extension of a pilot study that began in 2009, held a pleasant surprise for the researchers. Two of the patients who had complete sensory and motor paralysis were able to restore voluntary mobility. The researchers had assumed that at least some of the sensory pathways had to be intact in order for the treatment to work.
The paralysis work was funded by both the National Institutes of Health and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The Reeve Foundation was establish to provide patient advocacy and to fund research into spinal injuries. Christopher, famous for being Superman in a series of films, became quadriplegic as the result of a horse-riding accident and perished from a heart attack in 2004. Dana, his wife, died two years later from lung cancer.
The NIH, located primarily in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the world's foremost centers for medical research. It is comprised of 27 separate institutes and centers, including for cancer, eyes, heart and lung, genome research, aging, child health, deafness and alcohol and drug abuse.
This is exciting news for people who are paralyzed. The treatment may even restore movement to individuals years after the injury. Four people with paraplegia have been able to voluntarily move knees, ankles and toes while using the devices. The effect was enhanced when combined with physical rehabilitation.
In 27th century B. C. Egypt, Egyptian physicians were treating their pain patients by introducing them to torpedo fish, which have similar electrical properties to the common electric eel. Scribonium Largus, 47 AD physician to Emperor Claudius of Rome, was applying the fish to painful areas of his patient's body. Back then, people suffering from gout were advised to place living torpedo fish beneath their feet while standing on a sandy, wet beach.
It was not until 1965, when pain specialists Melzack and Wall introduced the gate theory of pain control, that scientists began to understand the neural mechanisms behind the effectiveness of electrotherapy. They proposed that nerves carrying the sensations of touch and vibration and the nerves that transmit painful impulses both terminated in the same region of the spinal cord, the dorsal horn. According to this theory, by activating the non-painful sensory pathways, the "gate" could be closed to painful stimuli.
Results of the study, which was an extension of a pilot study that began in 2009, held a pleasant surprise for the researchers. Two of the patients who had complete sensory and motor paralysis were able to restore voluntary mobility. The researchers had assumed that at least some of the sensory pathways had to be intact in order for the treatment to work.
The paralysis work was funded by both the National Institutes of Health and the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. The Reeve Foundation was establish to provide patient advocacy and to fund research into spinal injuries. Christopher, famous for being Superman in a series of films, became quadriplegic as the result of a horse-riding accident and perished from a heart attack in 2004. Dana, his wife, died two years later from lung cancer.
The NIH, located primarily in Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the world's foremost centers for medical research. It is comprised of 27 separate institutes and centers, including for cancer, eyes, heart and lung, genome research, aging, child health, deafness and alcohol and drug abuse.
About the Author:
Neil P. Hines is passionate about providing intelligent, unbiased and highly relevant medical information for people dealing with a wide range of pain conditions and related orthopedic needs, including back pain, knee pain, joint replacements, sports medicine, lumbar fusion and more. If you are interested in learning more about spinal cord doctors PA he recommends that you visit his friends at St. Mary Medical Center.
No comments:
Post a Comment