New system uses motion sensor technology for the management of chronic pain
At Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, Lisa Gonzalez was the first patient in Miami to receive the AdaptiveStim with RestoreSensor neurostimulator. Dr. Jonathan Hyde, orthopedic spine surgeon at Mount Sinai, successfully implanted the neurostimulator, the first and only chronic pain treatment that leverages motion sensor technology found in many consumer electronics, such as smart phones and computer gaming systems. This new technology provides effective pain relief and convenience to patients suffering from chronic back and/or leg pain.
After enduring four spine surgeries, 41-year old Gonzalez thought nothing would ever relieve her debilitating back pain caused by degenerative disc disease. Routine cortisone injections, often used to decrease inflammation, would cause her left leg to drag. Unable to stand for long periods of time, Gonzalez has spent the better part of the last six years lying in bed. “I had lost my will to do anything anymore like go to birthday parties. I couldn’t even remember to do everyday things because I was too concentrated on the pain,” said Gonzalez. “Living with this pain has cost me my job, being able to attend my sons’ school functions, my ability to drive or even just standing up for more than five minutes to cook a meal for my family.”
Gonzalez sought out Dr. Hyde at Mount Sinai Medical Center after her spine surgeries and treatments provided no longterm relief. Hyde recommended the neurostimulator to Gonzalez and the device was implanted in early February.
AdaptiveStim with RestoreSensor helps treat the symptoms of chronic back and/or leg pain by automatically recognizing and remembering the correlation between a change in body position and the level of stimulation needed. It also records and stores the frequency of posture changes, providing feedback to clinicians to help them understand how a patient’s individual stimulation requirements are changing over time.
Neurostimulation systems consist of an implantable medical device similar to a pacemaker that is used with a handheld patient programmer to interrupt pain signals from reaching the brain. The treatment has become a mainstay of chronic pain management. AdaptiveStim with Restore- Sensor provides a solution by recognizing and automatically adjusting stimulation as a patient continuously changes position, providing effective pain relief and convenience.
“For many patients with chronic pain, convenient is hardly a word that often comes to mind,” said Dr. Hyde of Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach, one of the first medical centers in the nation to offer the new therapy. “This new offering gives these chronic pain patients an important new option to help manage their pain symptoms and enable the return to their normal activities.”
An estimated 116 million American adults are affected by chronic pain, a debilitating and often disabling condition that can have a significant impact on day-to-day functioning.
“I think I found the answer I had been seeking for years,” said Gonzalez. “I can stand for long periods of time now which allows me to do groceries for my family. I can go up and down the stairs of my house and I can even sleep on my stomach, which may not sound like a big deal, but it was something I had not been able to do for the past six years.”
For more information on the AdaptiveStim with RestoreSensor neurostimulator or Dr. Jonathan Hyde at Mount Sinai Medical Center, call 305-674- CARE (2273) or visit www.msmc.com.
