Man doing house work without pain

Life after SCS & RFA

Hear stories from people who have been in your shoes and use a Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) system or Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA) to help manage their symptoms.*

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Laura’s story

Laura, 60 years old, living in the countryside in Varese Ligure, Liguria, Italy, surrounded by dogs, cats, horses, goats, and bees. She has been married for 38 years and has 3 daughters and 5 nephews.

How long have you been experiencing chronic pain?
I’ve been suffering from chronic pain since about 15 years, although for the first 5/6 years I haven’t had big problems, as the pain was tolerable and didn’t limit my activities.

What was your daily life like during that time?
I’ve been a housewife till 2005, I have grown up 3 daughters and at that time my activities were all linked to housekeeping and to my daughter's activities. And I was swimming a lot. In 2005 I set up a farm, where I now breed dogs professionally, but I also have other animals like horses and goats.

How did chronic pain impact your family, relationships, and mental/emotional health?
Pain has not influenced my family relations, my emotional health has always been good, as the pain hasn’t been always so strong, it has been increasing only during the years and when I suffered the most I tried to not strain too much. These high pain moments normally last 4 – 5 days and I get them about once per year.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in chronic pain management?
During moments of sharp pain I experience immobility, and I need to stop working or doing any normal housekeeping activities.

Tell us about your journey – which treatments did you try before RF, and how would you rate their impact on you?
I tried massages, Tecar therapy, kinesiology, but I couldn’t get any benefit from any of them.

Where did you go to find information about RadioFrequency Ablation therapy?
It has been suggested by my daughter.

What was your experience with the actual procedure? Did you experience any complications?
I got my first RF treatment on March 29th, 2021. I did not experience any complication and the general experience was very positive: I felt immediate reduction of the pain. I’ve been ok for 6 months: the pain has never exceeded a certain pain threshold, and this allowed me to do also heavy work at my farm without having to lay down for the rest of the day. Even the pain during the night that was normally very sharp, completely disappeared and I started sleeping well again without waking up each time I moved in bed.

What did RF treatment change for you? What was your quality of life before the treatment and after, from 1 – 10? Can you give me one or two examples of how your life has been improved by the device/treatment?
RF treatment allowed me to go back to my normal working activity. Pain has never really disappeared, but it has remained under very low levels for 9 months and it still allowed me heavy work. After 9 months pain came back.

What advice would you give to someone considering undergoing RF treatment?
I would recommend doing the treatment, seen the good results. I will repeat the treatment.

*The patient quotes in this material describe real personal experiences. Individual results may vary. Patients can experience different levels of pain management and different changes in their activities and use of medications.
Consult with your physician to determine if you are a candidate for this procedure and what you may gain from the therapy.

CAUTION: The law restricts these devices to sale by or on the order of a physician. Indications, contraindications, warnings, and instructions for use can be found in the product labelling supplied with each device or at www.IFU-BSCI.com. Products shown for INFORMATION purposes only and may not be approved or for sale in certain countries. This material not intended for use in France.