Functional Restoration Peripheral Nerve Stimulation

A Treatment that Strengthens an Important Muscle in the Back, to Relieve Low Back Pain

If you have low back pain, you may also have a weak multifidus muscle.

The multifidus is a deep muscle that runs along the length of the spine. It is made of many smaller muscles that connect the backbones and have an important role in strengthening the spine.

There is a multifidus muscle on the left side of your spine and another on the right side. These two muscles work together to allow your back to bend to one side or rotate as if to look over the shoulder.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do People Get Multifidus Muscle Weakness?

People can get multifidus muscle weakness after a back injury or chronic pain issues like wear-and-tear (degeneration) of the spinal discs.

Weakness of the multifidus muscle decreases the spine's stability and puts you in a cycle of back pain where new injuries can appear.

What is Functional Restoration Peripheral Nerve Stimulation?

It is a treatment that uses a medical device to send electric pulses to the multifidi muscles. Your pain specialist places this device in your low back, where many pain issues start.

The electric pulses cause the multifidi muscles to grow stronger without you having to consciously exercise them. As the muscles get stronger, you may feel relief from your low back pain.

When is Functional Restoration Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Used?

It is used in people whose lower back pain has not improved with pain medications and physical therapy. They are also not candidates for surgery. This is due to the fact that the underlying cause of the pain is weakness of the muscles that stabilize the spine. There is no surgery to strengthen muscles.

FAQs Continued

How Long Does it Take to Implant a Functional Restoration Peripheral Nerve Stimulation Device?

The device can be placed (or implanted) in your back during a short (under 1 hour) procedure, that is done in a pain clinic or ambulatory surgical center.

At first, you will be placed on a procedure table, facing downward. You may receive relaxing medication through an IV (intravenous line). Your pain specialist will use X-rays throughout to ensure the device is placed properly in your back.

After the procedure, you will recover for a short while in the clinic, then go home. Avoid heavy lifting for the next 4 weeks.

How Often is This Procedure Done?

This is a one-time procedure. The device can be removed later if there is a reason to do so. However, the device does not have to be removed as long as it provides you good pain relief.

What are the Expected Results?

Pain relief can start in the first couple of days after the device is implanted.

According to a clinical study where 102 people received Functional Restoration Peripheral Nerve Stimulation using the ReActiv8 System:

Most patients had decreased back pain after four months of treatment compared to patients in a control group who received an inferior treatment.
Treated patients could sleep, walk, travel, and generally function better in their daily tasks.
Improvements continued throughout the first year of treatment.

Is There a Longer Lasting Treatment?

No. Surgery is often thought of as the final treatment when people have chronic back pain. However, not all chronic pain patients who have back pain are surgical candidates. For those patients strengthening the multifidi muscles, Functional Restoration Peripheral Nerve Stimulation is the best choice.

Some of the problems treated with Functional Restoration Peripheral Nerve Stimulation include: muscle wasting, vertebrogenic low back pain (pain from the backbones), low back pain with sciatica (pain in the low back and in the leg), Degenerative Disc Disease (weakening of the discs in the spine). To read more about some of these conditions, click on the terms below.

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