Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: back pain + pain + therapy  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/7/2008)

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Shock therapy a cure for back pain

A pocket Gadget that stimulates the central nervous system could be a radical drug-free treatment for pain.

The device, which is about the size of a pager, shoots millions of electronic pulses through the skin to the spinal cord. They suppress pain signals produced by the central nervous system by using a technique called transcutaneous spinal electro-analgesia, or TSE.

Studies suggest the device, called Acticare TSE, can halve the level of pain in three out of four patients, some of whom have been in agony for years with back problems.

"Some people respond incredibly well and some do not," says Dr Peter Herbert, a North London GP who runs a specialist pain clinic.

"I see people with chronic pain who use lots of painkillers. The idea behind using Acticare is that they can reduce or even stop their use of painkillers."

Up to 80 per cent of UK adults suffer back pain at some point.

It is the largest single reason for taking time off from work, and at least half have long-term recurrences, with causes ranging from muscle tears and arthritis, to prolapsed discs and curvature of the spine.

Many sufferers rely heavily on painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs to live a normal life. But the safety of some drugs used to control back pain has been thrown into question.

Last month, new research raised the alarm over the increased risk of heart attacks in patients taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. These include tablets such as ibuprofen, taken by thousands of people on a daily basis.

A new and supposedly safer class of drugs, called Cox-2 inhibitors, has also been found to have hidden dangers.

Electronic pulses

With Acticare, two electrodes are placed on the skin, usually one on the neck and one over the spine in the middle of the back, each attached to the main hand-held device by a wire.

The device can be set to low, medium or high, and produces very short electrical pulses.

Each lasts a few millionths of a second but, because they have a relatively high voltage, they penetrate the skin and tissue until they reach the spinal cord.

It is believed these pulses interrupt pain signals in the nervous system, alleviating the pain elsewhere in the body.

The technique is effectively a souped-up version of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or TENS, a painrelieving method already widely used as an alternative to pills.

TSE is said to be ten times more powerful than TENS, emitting up to 250 volts, but produces hardly any sensation other than a slight tingling.

Using the device for just 20 minutes can give some people complete pain relief.

A survey of 150 patients found that, even though most had been in constant pain for more than nine years, almost 80 per cent said their pain levels were reduced by half. Over 90 per cent felt some benefit from the device, which costs about £169.

"The more you use it the better it gets," says Dr Herbert. "Unlike drugs, which you can get used to, you need less and less of the machine to gain the same effect."

Miraculous recovery

Caroline Harrison, from Somerset, suffered years of pain after a cycling accident aged 18. She fell from her bike and broke her collar bone, but it did not heal properly.

Caroline, 40, began to suffer constant pain which she learned to live with by taking painkillers, but aggravated the injury eight years ago when she fell off her horse.

"I landed on my shoulder and it just triggered off a lot more problems," she says. "I went to the doctor and he suggested breaking the collar bone again to try to fix it properly this time.

"They would shave off the excess bone that had grown around the injury and put a plate in. But there was no guarantee it would stop the pain and I would need several weeks off work. So I turned it down."

Caroline went back to a diet of painkillers, but had to live with a constant throbbing in her neck and shoulders. Two years ago she became involved in trials for the device.

The effects were immediate, she says. "The first time I used it for about 20 minutes and, within an hour, I was feeling much better.

"I'm quite sceptical and never really believed in all this alternative therapy stuff. But this really worked and it was quite amazing.

"I used it the next day and the day after that. Now I only need it every couple of months when I feel the pain coming on again."

Visit www.acticare.com for more information