SPRINT PNS; CRPS Ankle Pain
A few years ago, Alexis was outside playing fetch with her 110-pound German Shephard. While the dog — who was on a long rope leash — was running after a stick, the leash accidentally wrapped around Alexis’ left ankle. As the dog continued to run, the leash tightened around her ankle causing a burn. Little did Alexis know that this seemingly small injury would lead to years of pain.
“It just looked like a simple surface burn,” says Alexis, a mother of five, “but a week later, I couldn’t move my foot or ankle.” She went to her doctor, who examined her ankle, and realizing they would not be able to help her, they referred her to a burn center.
At the burn center, Alexis endured a painful process called “debridement,” three separate times. Each session involved scraping away dead tissue, and it was excruciating. “It was awful. Worse than having a cesarean section,” she recalls.
To cope with the pain of her injury and the treatments, the doctor there put her on opioids and other medications, but Alexis was wary. She says, “both of my parents are recovering addicts, and I didn’t want to get into that. But they told me it was such a low dose that addiction wasn’t likely to happen. I took them, but I didn’t like how they made me feel. I had brain fog, and I was worried I’d accidentally overdose myself.”
Intense burning, freezing sensations, and despair
Alexis, who has always been athletic and hoped to get back to being active, started physical therapy but her ankle never achieved a full range of motion. She was also experiencing horrible burning and freezing sensations in the area — and compared the feeling to being burned by a lighter. She was convinced something else must be wrong because those sensations didn’t seem to match the injury.
Finally, she went to another physician who performed an MRI and x-ray and found that the tissue inside her ankle had died. “They didn’t know if that was from the leash killing the blood vessels or if it was from a prior injury, but before the injury, I was running without any issues,” she recalls. Alexis couldn’t put any weight on her foot; it was constantly purple and cold.
Her physician diagnosed her with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), a neurological condition that causes the affected nerves to overreact to an injury. “The doctor said, ‘Well, you have CRPS, but basically, it’s all in your head.’” Alexis remembers. “And I’m thinking, ‘But it’s not all in my head. I feel this pain … and it’s limiting my life and making everything worse and causing a lot of depression.’”
The pain altered so many aspects of her life. She didn’t sleep well because she had to keep her foot elevated. She couldn’t take showers because the water on her ankle was too painful. She had to bathe with her leg outside the tub. Chores were hard, too. She couldn’t stand up for long or do any cooking, and she always had to wear some form of cast or boot on her foot. She missed her old life.
“I wanted to die. It was really hard to get up in the morning,” she says. “The only thing that kept me alive was my kids, and knowing I didn’t want to leave them.”
Referral to a pain specialist
Upon the CRPS diagnosis, her physician referred her to a pain specialist. Alexis tried various therapies, including cortisone shots, a nerve block, pool therapy, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) units — which deliver a mild electrical current to reduce pain — but none provided lasting relief for more than a few hours.
About a year into treating Alexis, her pain specialist told her about the SPRINT® Peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) System, a 60-day treatment for chronic pain. She was eager to try it, but unfortunately, it took several tries and a couple of years before Alexis could get insurance to agree to cover the treatment.
SPRINT PNS at last
Finally, with an insurance preauthorization in hand, Alexis was scheduled for her SPRINT PNS procedure. Implant day was not without obstacles. Alexis and the pain specialist’s team had to work around tornado warnings and nearby tornado touchdowns before they could get into the procedure room to insert the leads.
“The tornado situation was so crazy,” Alexis says, “but when they were finally able to do the implant, I felt pain relief right away. I felt stimulation in my toes, which I hadn’t felt for years.”
Returning to life
Throughout all of this, Alexis was not just battling pain — she was also training to become a paralegal, with ambition to go to law school and eventually practice family law and litigation. During her SPRINT treatment, she flew to Chicago and was able to walk across the stage pain-free to receive her paralegal degree certificate. “I was so happy, it made me cry,” she said.
She also helped at her daughters’ summer camp, cooking for 200 kids. “It was incredible because I didn’t need crutches. I could walk around and carry things. I was even wearing tennis shoes!” she recalls with a huge smile.
Now, post-treatment, she experiences occasional bouts of pain here and there but considers herself pain free compared to what she once endured. She has gone from taking nine medications at one time to none today. Most importantly to her, she’s active again. “I’ve been able to jog short distances, play soccer with my kids, and just yesterday, I put on a pair of boots that I haven’t worn since the accident!
“The SPRINT treatment changed my life; it changed my world so I can be a mom again. I can just be a person. Oh, wow!”
The SPRINT PNS System is indicated for up to 60 days for: (i) Symptomatic relief of chronic, intractable pain, post-surgical and post-traumatic acute pain; (ii) Symptomatic relief of post-traumatic pain; and (iii) Symptomatic relief of post-operative pain. The SPRINT PNS System is not intended to be placed in the region innervated by the cranial and facial nerves.
Each patient’s testimonial is the result of each patient’s unique situation resulting in varying responses, experiences, risks, and outcomes to the SPRINT PNS System. The patient experiences shared on this page are not medical advice and should not be substituted for the independent medical judgment of a trained healthcare professional. Discuss your options and use of the SPRINT PNS System with your medical provider. Physicians should use their best judgment when deciding when to use the SPRINT PNS System. For more information see the SPRINT PNS System IFU.
Most common side effects are skin irritation and erythema. Results may vary. Rx only.
