Why Spinal Cord Stimulation Brings Movement To Paraplegics
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.
Despite the successful application of electricity for the alleviation of pain for dozens of centuries, it was 1965 before scientists got their first glimmer of understanding as to how the treatment worked. That was the year when two scientists specializing in pain, Patrick Wall and David Melzack, proposed the gate control theory of pain.
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.
Recent research was funded jointly by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. The Reeve Foundation exists to provide advocacy and funding for research into spinal cord injuries. Actor Christopher Reeve, who was best known for his portrayal of Superman, was paralyzed in a horseback-riding accident in 1995. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 2004. His wife, Dana, died of lung cancer in 2006, just over a week before her 45th birthday.
The National Institutes of Health is one of the world's leading centers for medical research. It consists of 27 different institutes and centers, including institutes for research into cancer, heart and lung, child health, aging and genome research among others. The NIH is mainly located in Bethesda, Maryland.
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.
Despite the successful application of electricity for the alleviation of pain for dozens of centuries, it was 1965 before scientists got their first glimmer of understanding as to how the treatment worked. That was the year when two scientists specializing in pain, Patrick Wall and David Melzack, proposed the gate control theory of pain.
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.
Recent research was funded jointly by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. The Reeve Foundation exists to provide advocacy and funding for research into spinal cord injuries. Actor Christopher Reeve, who was best known for his portrayal of Superman, was paralyzed in a horseback-riding accident in 1995. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 2004. His wife, Dana, died of lung cancer in 2006, just over a week before her 45th birthday.
The National Institutes of Health is one of the world's leading centers for medical research. It consists of 27 different institutes and centers, including institutes for research into cancer, heart and lung, child health, aging and genome research among others. The NIH is mainly located in Bethesda, Maryland.
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.
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