Neck, Shoulder & Back Chronic Pain
“It’s pretty self-explanatory.” That is how Amanda, an Army veteran, describes a new non-invasive high-frequency neuromodulation device. “There is a small square on the patch. It is quick and easy to use.” Amanda has been living with chronic pain ever since she was medically discharged in 2016.
She spent eight years on active duty. Her last deployment was 13 months in Afghanistan, the location of her initial injuries. While out on patrol, Amanda was tossed from her vehicle during an accident. Initially she was diagnosed with a complex fracture in her foot and ankle, but she completed her tour regardless of her injuries. With her first foot surgery, the pain and function went from bad to worse and had to endure a second surgery only four weeks later. With detached ligaments in her ankle, Amanda went through six months of physical therapy but she was still in pain and never recovered a proper gait. Later, her physicians found that her shoulder also had damage from the accident and it was dislocated.
Her case became even more complex when she was in a truck accident. This time, she was not in the truck but under it. During the accident, the vehicle rolled over her leaving Amanda with multiple injuries including a traumatic brain injury and severe neck pain. Recovery from that accident was long with lingering effects. Amanda developed migraines and after the truck accident, she had to go through shoulder reconstruction surgery. Still with a poorly functioning foot and ankle here gait was off and later developed chronic lower back pain.
With severe pain in her foot, ankle, neck, shoulder and lower back, what do you treat? She went through the regime of various medications. As it turns out, the kind that works for her is considered a controlled substance and the VA will not prescribe them to her. Amanda chose to go with no pain medications if she can’t get what works. For the time being, she was self-treating with hot and cold packs, TENS units and physical therapy. She even attempted a trial for a spinal cord stimulation system. Amanda failed the trial due to vertigo sensations and was never implanted. As her pain progressed, she has been campaigning her VA doctors to simply amputate her damaged ankle and foot, just so she can have functional and pain-less walking.
When she first tried this new high-frequency stimulator, she was hesitant. After trying several other surface stimulation systems, she did not want to have the vertigo sensation again or develop a severe headache. Upon her first try, she put the sticky patch on her neck and turn it on to a low level. She felt the sensation but it didn’t do much to help the pain. After some briefing from the customer service team, she turned up the intensity and after an hour of use, she could feel the difference with no other side effects. Amanda now uses it every day after work on her shoulders, back and neck. She tried using it on her foot but the standard patches don’t quite work for that. In the end, the stimulation device gives her “good relief in my neck, back and shoulder blades.”
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