New technology makes it possible to obtain high-resolution images of the human spinal cord during surgery. It will help treat chronic back pain, according to a study published in the journal Neuron.
When a person, for example, hits himself with his hand, he instinctively begins to rub it. This improves blood flow, stimulates sensory nerves and sends a signal to the brain, which responds by relieving pain. Spinal cord stimulation with electrodes works in a similar way. However, it is successful in only 50% of cases.
The truth is that during spine surgery surgeons cannot evaluate whether they are increasing blood flow sufficiently. They also cannot ask the patient whether the pain has decreased because he is under anesthesia. Conventional methods for imaging blood flow during spinal surgery work poorly because the heart’s pulsation and breathing create noise in the images. The new method is less sensitive to these factors.
Scientists proposed using sound waves that are reflected from erythrocytes (red blood cells) and then converted into images. The technology was tested on six patients with chronic low back pain. Medications or other treatments did not help them, so doctors recommended surgical stimulation of the spinal cord with electrodes.
The method made it possible to detect minimal changes in blood flow with an accuracy of 1 millimeter per second, that is, twice as high as existing methods. The authors believe their method will also help optimize treatment for patients who lose bladder control due to spinal cord injury or aging.
previous search showedIt showed that one month of yoga could reduce the severity of chronic lower back pain by half.