SPRINT PNS; Low back pain
If you had told Kristy a few years ago that one day her back pain would be gone, she would never have believed it. She has struggled with back discomfort most of her life, but it got significantly worse about 10 years ago.
There was no triggering event that caused her pain, though. “I have a curved spine and arthritis in my lower back and the pain just built up over time. It started in my upper back and then spread down to the lower half very quickly,” recalls Kristy. She also has spinal stenosis and polyneuropathy, a diabetes-related nerve condition that causes numbness and tingling in her legs. The combination of all these things made life exceedingly difficult for her. “I could hardly do anything. Many times, I just didn’t move because of the pain.”
However, she continued to enjoy her favorite activities. “I like going to the casino and playing bingo. I didn’t let the pain stop me. I’d just sit on soft chairs and put pillows around me,” says Kristy, who also enjoys creating woodburning projects, which she can do while she sits.
Never a good nights’ sleep
Her sleep was another matter. She could only lay on her right side because if she rolled over, the pain was excruciating. And even though she took powerful sleep medications, she couldn’t get solid rest and was exhausted a lot of the time.
During the day, Kristy says the pain felt like an attack, and on a scale from zero to 10, it reached a 10 on many occasions. “I couldn’t lift anything or do anything. I often had to use my walker or wheelchair just to get around.” Her longtime partner, Bryan, witnessed firsthand how this impacted her moods. “She never wanted to do anything but lay down and rest, and sometimes the pain made her cranky,” he says.
Over the years, Kristy sought help from different doctors. At one point, she was prescribed physical therapy, but stopped doing her exercises because they didn’t do anything. She tried a few different medications and found that none of them made any difference. One time the pain was so severe; she ended up in the emergency room. While there, a physician administered steroid shots in her back, and they helped for a while until they wore off.
Ablations didn’t last
Eventually, she started to see Dr. Luke Law, a pain medicine physician who performed a spinal ablation — a treatment where the affected nerves are burned to stop the pain — and it worked, at least for a while. The nerves grew back, and the pain returned, though. Subsequent ablations weren’t as effective, according to Kristy, so Dr. Law switched to administering injections to the pressure points along Kristy’s back, but they didn’t really do much for her pain.
“Dr. Law is very conscientious, and he was concerned about me. He couldn’t believe how much pain I could take with the needles he used,” says Kristy. When those last injections failed, Dr. Law decided to see if Kristy would be open to trying peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) via the SPRINT® PNS 60-day treatment. Kristy leapt at the chance to try it.
“We tried conservative treatments, which didn’t provide durable relief for Kristy,” says Dr. Law. “I felt SPRINT PNS would be a good choice because it’s a short-term treatment that has been proven to provide sustained and significant relief for many patients.”
Once she started treatment with SPRINT PNS, it began working within a few weeks and Kristy was astonished. “I never felt so much relief ever! It felt kind of like shock therapy and I could adjust the intensity up and down. It worked so well,” says Kristy. And her partner Bryan noticed a difference about midway through her treatment, saying: “She got her spunkiness back.”
Pain-free at last
Now, more than a year later, Kristy’s back is still pain-free. And she says she can do almost anything, including going to the laundromat and lifting her loads of laundry, without issue. Her sleep is better and she’s able to go for walks now just using a walking stick rather than her walker or wheelchair. “I still need support when I walk, but it’s only because of my polyneuropathy.”
Looking back, Kristy says she’s so glad she went for it. “SPRINT PNS was the biggest decision of my life. I can’t believe I have no pain in my back. I really hope other people out there are able to get SPRINT PNS and that it works as well for them as it did for me. It was so worth it!”
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.
