"Scrambler therapy," a non-invasive treatment that uses electrodes, has been found to be effective among 80 to 90 per cent of chronic pain patients.
ADVERTISEMENTExperiencing aching hip bones, dull lower back pinches, or knee discomfort? You might be among the 100 million Europeans grappling with chronic pain.
Dubbed an "invisible burden," chronic pain is defined as pain that carries on for more than three months despite treatment.
However, a new review of several studies published in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that "scrambler therapy" can provide significant relief for those suffering from chronic pain.
What is scrambler therapy?
Scrambler therapy is the name of a patented method designed by Giuseppe Marineo, a professor from the University of Rome Tor Vergatas. It was approved by US authorities in 2009.
It is a non-invasive therapy similar to the commonly known transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) but is a distinct type of treatment, scientists at Johns Hopkins University explained in their review study.
It involves applying electrodes to the skin using patches and then sending low-frequency electric currents.
Pain travels through the nerve fibres to the brain but the therapy uses electric currents to "scramble" this transmission, dialling down the pain. It replaces signals from areas in pain with signals from areas experiencing no pain, according to Thomas Smith, a professor of oncology and medicine at Johns Hopkins University.
Marineo claims on his website that scrambler therapy can be used for pain resulting from surgery or chemotherapy that is resistant to other treatments.
While scrambler therapy is designed to treat pain, it won’t impact the underlying causes of it.
Significant relief for 90% of the patients
With data from several randomised clinical trials, the review study found scrambler therapy provided pain relief for 80 to 90 per cent of patients with chronic pain.
"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 Smith in a statement.
The results are promising for patients suffering from chronic pain as scrambler therapy also had long-lasting effects while TENS benefits tended to stop when the stimulation ended.
Scrambler therapy is, however, a big investment with a price tag of $65,000 (€60,000) for a device. Practitioners are also required to complete several days of training.
One limitation of the review study was a lack of large, randomised clinical trials of these therapies. The scientists said that additional preclinical trials are needed.
Chronic pain has always been complicated to treat. It is now proven that physical activity can be beneficial, but even very low-intensity exercise can be too much.
Medication can also be tricky as some painkillers, such as narcotics or opioids, lose their effectiveness over time and can fuel addiction.
