Electrical Stimulation Therapy Combats Your Migraine Pain

If you suffer from headaches or reoccurring migraines, electrical stimulation therapy may be your answer! Science and technology are evolving to bring more tools to your arsenal for combating migraine pain that doesn’t involve pharmaceuticals. New studies are looking into the power of blocking out headache and migraine pain with electrical stimulation therapy (EST). This non-drug, non-invasive technology offers you a better way to combat your pain symptoms. Migraine pain is debilitating pain in many who suffer from it, but has been shown to respond to non-drug treatments such as EST. Texas Spine and Sports Therapy Center medical providers are trained in electrical stimulation therapy, and able to deliver you targeted results with our EPS 8000 technology. The EPS 8000 represents a breakthrough in electrical stimulation therapy and pain management that can help you get the results you need effectively and safely.

Opioid Statistics and Pain

According to the Center for Disease Control, nearly two million Americans abused or were dependent on opioid medicines in 2014, and 165,000 died between 1999 and 2014 from overdoses related to opioid prescriptions. Prescriptions for opioid medications are on the rise, even for help with headaches and migraines that don’t go away with over-the-counter medicine or treatments.

According to Drugabuse.gov, “26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide”. The United States consumes more opioids than any other country in the world, and the number of prescriptions for opioids have risen by the millions in the last 20 years. Opioid prescription numbers rose from “76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013.” These opioid prescriptions were prescribed to reduce patient pain, however, the side effects of opioid pain medications are alarming. These medicines can cause nausea, vomiting, constipation, drowsiness, confusion, and can especially induce tolerance to the drugs after only a few weeks. Withdraws are common when patients try to move away from opioid use, and there are thousands of deaths each year from accidental overdoses. Doctors and therapists are looking to other forms of pain-relief methods to avoid the need for opioids. That’s where electrical stimulation therapy comes into play.

Electrical Stimulation Therapy

Electrical stimulation therapy can help alleviate your migraine pain so you can stop relying on medications and live a healthier life. How does it work though? EST involves the use of electrical devices (referred to as stimulators) to help pain symptoms at the onset of headaches and migraines and throughout their duration. This stimulation is called neuromodulation, and is essentially a way to stimulate the nervous system with electrical signals. EST electrical impulses speed up circulation, allowing more blood flow and oxygen to your head, where some of the migraine and headache pain can be alleviated.

Studies in EST

Many studies have been conducted with electrical stimulation therapy in search of a non-medicinal alternative to opioids. In several studies, 38% or more of those who used devices and were within the ages of 18-65, saw attacks drop by half or more. Others saw frequent monthly migraines diminish from 7 or more headaches down to 5 or less. The severity of migraines did not diminish much with the use of the devices, but the duration and frequency seemed to decline. Similar to medicine, those who used the devices right at the onset of a headache or migraine, saw their pain dissipate fairly quickly compared to those who waited 30-60 minutes to begin using the devices.

Benefits of Electrical Stimulation Therapy

This therapy was created and is being studied for the sole purpose of providing a non-medicinal method of pain relief to those who suffer with migraine and headache pain. The studies and trials of the therapy are new in the last few years, but certain forms of the therapy have been FDA approved already, while others are awaiting approval. In trials that have been performed, no patient has recorded any negative side effects of EST. This is quite the contrast from the many side effects that can come from opioid use. EST is not addicting and can be used frequently to relieve pain, and patients won’t build up a tolerance to the therapy or feel withdrawals. The therapy is also non-invasive and devices can be rented for several months at a time instead of having to buy.

Many who study electrical stimulation therapy predict that it will be used more and more in the future to combat pain and keep each patient’s quality of life the best it could be. We are confident that our patients will see a reduction in their pain and will be happier with this therapy. Our own EPS 8000 tech represents a breakthrough in electrical stimulation therapy and pain management and can help you with pain. Contact us at (512) 806-0015 today and see what kind of pain-management plan we can get you started on!