We always have our ear to the ground when it comes to learning about new potential forms of treatment for chronic pain, and one such treatment that is making waves in the pain care community is called scrambler therapy. But what is scrambler therapy, and could it really help you get control over your chronic pain condition? We take a closer look at the treatment in today’s blog.
Scrambler Therapy
Non-opioid treatments to combat chronic pain is a multi-billion dollar industry for any company that can come up with an effective solution to the problem of chronic pain. And while transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has seen some progress by using electrodes to deliver electrical stimulation and painful nerves, it’s still not a perfect system. Scrambler therapy looks to improve on the TENS unit by using electricity in a slightly different manner.
With scrambler therapy, a doctor delivers electrical stimulation via electrodes to areas surrounding the source of chronic pain. In a review of 381 randomized trials, the technique was found to offer significant relief in over 80 percent of patients.
“Scrambler therapy is the most exciting development I have seen in years – it’s effective, it’s noninvasive, it reduces opioid use substantially and it can be permanent,” said study lead author Dr. Thomas Smith, professor of oncology and medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Scrambler therapy works by targeting the nerve endings of damaged nerves and replacing them with nerve signals from nearby nerves, effectively “scrambling” the nerve relay information that reaches the brain. By scrambling this established signal transmission, researchers can reduce or even eliminate pain relays along this neural route.
“If you can block the ascending pain impulses and enhance the inhibitory system, you can potentially reset the brain so it doesn’t feel chronic pain nearly as badly,” said Dr. Smith. “It’s like pressing Control-Alt-Delete about a billion times.”
In the review, patients were subjected to between three and 12 half-hour scrambling sessions, with over 80 percent of patients reporting substantial pain relief. Additional research is needed to really understand the best ways to harness the therapy technique and isolate which patients it may be most beneficial for, but it’s certainly encouraging information. It’s not a technique that Dr. Cohn and his team currently offer, but if it continues to show promise within the pain care community, we’re always looking to expand our ability to effectively treat our patients, so it could certainly be an option down the road.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for a physician who will give you the individual attention you need to overcome a chronic pain condition, pick up the phone and give Dr. Cohn and his team a call today at (952) 738-4580.