Spine implant could end pain for millions

This new medical breakthrough could end the misery for millions of back pain sufferes

MILLIONS of people suffering from chronic back pain could see an end to their misery.

 

For the first time, doctors have successfully carried out a spinal cord implant which could herald an end to a condition dubbed “Britain’s sedentary epidemic”. 

In a pioneering procedure, medics in Australia implanted a device into a patient’s spinal cord after he had suffered years of agonising back pain. 

The implant stimulates the spinal cord which sends electric pulses through the nervous system and “confuses” the brain. 

As a result, instead of feeling pain the patient feels “a pleasant tingling sensation”. 

 

Joe Grewal, 60, had suffered from chronic back pain for more than three decades before the life-changing implant. 

Last night, he spoke of his joy following the surgical procedure. He said: “I feel amazing. I’m just so excited. My life will change now for the better. It’s a significant decrease in pain.” 

Dr Charles Brooker, the medic who carried out the pioneering implant procedure at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital, hailed the breakthrough as a “big advance”. 

“Spinal cord stimulators [send] signals into the spinal cord and so the person with pain feels tingling in the pain area and that confuses the brain and they don’t feel the pain, they just feel a pleasant tingling sensation,” said Dr Brooker. 

I feel amazing. I’m just so excited. My life will change now for the better.

Back pain sufferer Joe Grewal

 



A reported 8 in 10 people in the are UK suffering one or more bouts of lower back pain



 



This could also be the tool which could help tackle pain in Parkinson's



Experts in back pain yesterday welcomed the breakthrough, with some predicting the treatment could help millions of patients avoid a life-long reliance on costly painkillers. 

In the UK, a back pain epidemic is now costing the economy £1billion in sick leave each year. 

Back, neck and muscle problems caused 31 million days of work to be lost last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. 

New figures, released by the UK Statistics Authority, showed that workers aged 50-64 lost around 4.2 million working days due to back pain in 2014. 

Those aged 25-34 were absent for 1.89 million days, while those in the 35-49 bracket missed 3.86 million days. 

Traditionally, sufferers who go to their GP with back pain are treated through a combination of physiotherapy and painkillers such as paracetamol. 

 

In the UK, a back pain epidemic is now costing the economy £1billion in sick leave each year.

 

Surgery is an option in extreme cases. The extremely debilitating condition is, along with osteoarthritis – the most common form of arthritis – the leading cause of disability in the UK and throughout the world. 

Now medical charities hope the extraordinary development could help treat those suffering from Parkinson’s disease. 

Claire Bale, head of research at Parkinson’s UK, said: “This could be an important new tool in the armoury of options for tackling pain in Parkinson’s. But further research is needed.” 

Once fully tested the device is expected to cost about £15,000. At this early developmental stage, it remains unclear how widespread its use will become or whether it could one day be available on the NHS.