Looking for New RSD Treatments

I️ haven’t I’m from CT, but my current specialist out of the Hartford Pain Management Clinic here is good friends with Dr. Katinka at the Spero clinic as they’ve both won awards for medical innovation in the world of treating chronic pain, and he credits her for introducing him to a lot of these new treatments when he began targeting his practice from widespread chronic pain to specifically RSD/CRPS patients!

Where are you from? Sounds like you've been to the Spiro clinic?

I’ve had RSD for 17 years and just this past year in finding an AMAZING pain specialist who won the NIH Director’s Award in scientific/medical innovation I’ve learned about so many new options. PEMF devices are great for reducing inflammation, increasing circulation and mobility, and treating muscle, nerve, and bone pain. The Oska Pulse is one that can be worn underneath or over clothing throughout the day, and while it’s small, the electromagnetic pulses cover a beachball sized area. They also make PEMF mats that are great for sleeping, but as even the lower end devices are expensive, I’d recommend the Oska. There’s also a new implant available, a PNS (peripheral nerve stimulation) implant that’s about the width of a human hair and can be implanted to target the specific nerve necessary unlike SCS. It works like a pacemaker sending small electrical impulses to the targeted nerve, it actually changes the way your brain perceives pain by interrupting the signals sent from the affected nerve. I️’m scheduled to get the SPRINT PNS system implanted late April, it’s a 60 day implant and while it won’t take your pain away, 74% of patients in the trial phase reported a 50% reduction in pain within those 60 days, and in eight studies nearly as many reported significantly less pain in the months after the implant had been removed. In those who didn’t notice as much of a decrease in pain, they did notice an improved quality of life (for example if currently your pain is at a seven laying in bed, your pain may stay at a seven, but you’re able to do more of the things you used to enjoy without your pain increasing. I️ know someone personally who was able to start running again. There are also other permanent PNS implants the size of a quarter that can be used if the pain returns. It’s been recommended to me to use that in conjunction with biofeedback, which I’ve done in the past and it does help quite a bit. What’s amazing about these noninvasive treatments is that you can do them all at once, get the implant, use the Oska, and do biofeedback. Quite literally retrain your brain.

I started low dose naltrexone in the fall and it worked pretty well for me. I just got too tolerant of it so I’m taking a break & it’s very obvious how much it helped me now. Mine started in my right leg and moved all the way up to my right hip after nerve blocks. Also having symptoms in my right hand lately and my left foot after breaking left pinky toe