Scar tissue on spinal cord

[jrehmeyer]

I had surgery on my back to cut the filum terminalae, which is a piece of connective tissue that connects the end of the spinal cord to the sacrum. My filum terminalae wasn’t as elastic as it should be, and the result was that when I moved, my spinal cord was stretched tight and pulled on my brainstem, causing very nasty neurological symptoms including convulsions with involuntary screaming, semi-paralysis, inability to speak, limited cognition, lots of fun stuff.

The surgery was very successful and I did great afterward – for a while. Then the same symptoms recurred, even worse. Turns out that nerve roots had gotten trapped in the scar tissue that formed on the dura (the sac containing the cerebrospinal fluid, spinal cord and brain), which again meant that the spinal cord was getting stretched when I moved.

So I had another surgery to remove the scar tissue, and again, I did great! For a few months. Now the same problem has recurred. So I’m trying everything I can think of that might help remove that scar tissue, since having yet another surgery that might work for only a few months is really unappealing.

I’ve been using frequency specific microcurrent, and while there’s evidence that it’s been helping, it hasn’t solved the problem. I’m now considering PEMF.

So…

1. Does it seem plausible that PEMF might help break up scar tissue in this situation?

2. I’m confused about the different programs in the more sophisticated machines, and in reading through the information on the micro-pulse.com website, I got overwhelmed (again, my cognition has been affected). Would I be better off with a device like the M1, with different programs, or would the A9 be just as good for me? And if I got the M1, how would I decide which program to use?

3. I am very motivated, given that the stakes for me are very high, so I anticipate wearing the device quite a bit. It seems like both the M1 and the A9 are plenty portable for wearing while doing stuff. Is that right?

4. I tend to react to adhesives. Is it possible to attach the coils without adhesive? And where would I attach them?

If there’s some place that much of this basic information is laid out that I just haven’t found, feel free to direct me to it rather than to waste time writing it out again. I may just be missing the right place to go.

[Serenity]

Wow, sorry to hear about your suffering. Definitely wouldn’t want to wish that on anyone.

Regarding your questions:

3. I know at least M1 is portable: you can use a rechargeable battery to power it and then you can walk around with the M1.

4. Regarding adhesive, I’m highly allergic to latex and sensitive to many forms of adhesive. However, in some of the videos that Bob shares on his website, he suggests nonadhesive wraps, which I find helpful. These are bandage wraps that you can wrap around anything: it doesn’t adhere to the object you’re wrapping, but just to itself. You can buy them at Amazon or you can buy them at micro-pulse.com, but you need to ask if the bandages contain latex or not if that is something you’re sensitive to.

A more feasible method would be to use a belt or elastic wrap to hold it in place. When you buy the M1, it comes with an elastic velcro wrap that you can use to hold the coils in place. That shouldn’t be difficult if you attach the wrap around your waist.

One other alternative or it could be used in combination with the M1 application:
Regarding scar tissue, I did have a cholecystectomy — surgery to remove a gallbladder (due to gallstones), and my family GP at the time used to share a laugh with me calling me an alien because every time I was under stress, one of the surgical scars would glow bright red and it would feel like I was under the knife again, the stabbing pain would be sharp, and this is like several years after the cholecystectomy! I suspect the pain and turning red are due to inflammation, but because the pain isn’t constant, analgesics just didn’t work on stopping or reducing it.

Then I heard that magnesium chloride would help soften and fade scars, so I decided to try that. It took a couple of weeks of smearing the magnesium oil on the scar tissue, but it worked! The scar is still there, but it’s now so faded, that you can barely see it and I no longer get the glow or the pain that comes with it. Since then, I’ve used it on all my surgical scars (yeah, I have lots), even those dating 40 years back.

I don’t know how much it can help with yours, but certainly, it can’t hurt, as magnesium chloride has excellent health benefits for many things. You would probably have to apply more often and for longer than two weeks (maybe several weeks or more) to see results. Magnesium chloride is sold as magnesium oil, which is quite pricey, but you can make your own for much, much less. Works best transdermally: get the magnesium chloride bath flakes and mix 1:1 with water to smear on the wound and let air dry for 20 minutes before wiping or washing off. Do not apply to open wounds: it will make the wound heal faster, but it stings like the devil, literally like applying salt to an open wound.

I’ve used this stuff for so many conditions and even shared it with my friends to treat their many conditions, so I’m pretty confident of how well it works, but do let me know how long it takes for you to benefit.

[Bob]

This kind of basic information is spread out all over the place, so it would probably be best if I summarized it here for you in one place. Answering each of your four questions directly:

1- Break up scar tissue: Maybe. I don’t have any specific information on this condition, but PEMF does seem to help most issues with peripheral nerve problems that usually involve a build up of scar tissue. So, trying this for your condition might work but it would be experimental.

2- Different programs (on models M1 and C5): these different programs are all based on what people have been asking for for purposes of self-experiment, but there is no relationship such as “This program treats that condition”. Statements like that are just PEMF marketing fraud. And our testing shows that our default program (Omni-8) works as well as or better than other programs for most uses of our device. So, you are best off just using the least expensive and simplest system: model A9.

3- Motivated: yes, that is the main thing that will bring you success with our technology. The devices are extremely portable, I am wearing two of them right now (hip and lower back), and do not even notice them.

4- Adhesives: me too, I don’t tolerate adhesives on my skin. We don’t use adhesives for attaching coils. I just modify simple bandages or clothing for exactly what I need for coil and device placement. Everyone is different, so this takes a bit of creativity. But it is not too hard, and it works well.

[Darla]

Look into Dr Tennants book on Arachnoditis for ideas on dealing with scar tissue. He mentions and others do to that serapeptase can help. He also recommends anti-inflamatory diet, certain exercises, peptides, PEMF, hydration, etc. You can find his books on Amazon and he has a webpage…I think its called hopeforarachnoditis.

[KarenG]

Do you think if wounds healed quickly with these tools it might keep scar tissue from forming? If so, what a great tool.

[Bob]

Actually @KarenG, that is precisely what I have in mind. I am currently working with a group in Zurich and NY to find funding for a series of certified third-party studies to test exactly the effects on wound healing rate and scar formation, potential scar reduction, and interactions and synergies with other treatments, etc.

And now the obvious question: How long will this take?

Honest answer: Maybe never, but with luck it will take precisely 4 weeks plus the time it takes for me to convince wealthy investors to write checks totaling about $5M, which means maybe never.

[Wade]

Hello. I am new to this forum, have done a lot of reading and all I can say is thanks to the many contributors. I have learned a lot! I am also new to PEMF, driven, like so many, to find answers and hope for medical conditions that persist after traditional pathological medicine has run out of ideas. Briefly, in the past 7 months I’ve had several invasive procedures to treat acute lumbar spine issues. I have developed Cauda Equina nerve root clumping and likely post operative Arachnoiditis.

@KarenG what you described about wounds healing quickly to avoid scar tissue, in my case worse clumping or nerve root adhesion to the Arachnoid, is exactly what I’m hoping for.

Darla (tried to @ you but as a new user I can only tag two other users) I’ve read Tennant’s book, Aldrete’s book (you can get a digital copy of Aldrete’s book from the admin at the Arachnoiditis group on Facebook) and pretty much all of the published studies about Arachnoiditis treatment options available on the internet. My conclusion is exactly what @Bob has said about knowledge and education being the key to applying PEMF and other electrical stimulation (ES) modalities to different medical conditions, such as Arachnoiditis, because the field of electro-magnetic energy is highly complicated and research to correlate PEMF/ES approaches to health outcomes is sparse at best. That said, I still need to try, so…@Bob two questions.

1. Last year you posted “…our testing shows that our default program (Omni-8) works as well as or better than other programs for most uses of our device. So, you are best off just using the least expensive and simplest system: model A9.”

Given what I wrote above, have you developed any new research or knowledge in the past year that would guide you to recommend anything different than your model A9 for me, or is that still your recommendation?

2. Are you familiar with the Calmare Scrambler therapy for peripheral neuropathy and if so would you be willing to share your perspective on it’s real or perceived therapeutic benefits?

Thank you again for the many contributions in this forum. I am looking forward to continuing to learn and interact with this community.

[Bob]

Hi @Wade, welcome to the forum.
I’ll just answer your questions very briefly and directly:

“have you developed any new research or knowledge in the past year that would guide you to recommend anything different than your model A9 for me, or is that still your recommendation?”
Nope, same has been true for a few years now: best place to start for most people for most things is still our default settings: Omni-8 at medium power settings. The only way to know if anything different will work better for you is to try, experiment, keep notes, and see.

“Are you familiar with the Calmare Scrambler therapy?”
No, sorry. I don’t know anything about it. But if you have one, I suggest you consider trying a side-by-side (one after the other) comparison with one of our ICES-PEMF systems, then report your observations back here. ICES-PEMF has been very helpful for many people with peripheral neuropathy (including me), so it would be interesting to know if this other system works as well or better. And if you see a synergistic benefit by using both systems, that would be very helpful to know as well.

[Wade]

Thanks @Bob. Understood on the Omni-8 at medium power settings. Is there a frequency and duration you recommend as a starting protocol? I’m going order an A9 shortly.

I don’t believe the Calmare technology is commercially available. I first found it as a pain management therapy offered at a handful of VA hospitals for different chronic pain conditions. Here’s the link to the website http://calmarett.com/

Thanks again.

[Bob]

Frequency and duration? Just as we discuss all over this forum, so you will see it many times: start low and slow, but if you tolerate it well work up to 6 to 8 hours per day, every day. If you get relief, or tissue recovery, or symptom reduction, then I recommend continuing use for at least a week or two while asymptomatic to allow full tissue recovery. If you are willing to do so, the recovery seems to be permanent about 80% of the time.

Calmare technology?: I could be mistaken, but on first pass it appears to be a minor tweak of TENS, basically just electrical current applied directly to the skin. If so, this ancient technology was grandfathered in because it pre-dates the FDA, so technologies of this kind take advantage of the 510(k) loop hole. This is the loop hole that basically all new medical devices attempt to use (abuse) because all it takes is proof that the technology was for sale in interstate commerce before 1976, and then it is essentially not regulated by the FDA.

Some of the commercial technology that meets this FDA grandfather requirement works well enough, but keep in mind that it is the technological equivalent of a disco ball. In general, I rate the effectiveness of trans-dermal electrical stimulation technologies as “meh” to “meh+”

[Wade]

Very helpful, thanks again.

[Linda_Lynn]

I have 3 ICES PEMF devices and have been using them for nearly 6 years. I am no expert but when I read about the Calmare Scrambler it sounded to me like a device that would help with pain, but does not help with healing. My husband has experience using one of Bob’s devices after a knee replacement surgery. The post surgery physical therapist was impressed with how fast he healed and released him from therapy a lot sooner than she had planned. I have osteopenia and have had arthritis in my lower back for about 20 years. I fell over backwards recently and hurt my back. I waited for two weeks before getting a CT scan. I have 2 mild compression fractures on T10 & T12 and a slipped disc at L5. I have been using my C5 to power the four 2X2 coils that are taped together into a mat that Bob sells pre-made. I highly recommend it! The mat does a great job of keeping the pain away. I have not had to take any of the pain medication that the doctor prescribed for me. I read the side effects and decided there was no way I would take something that could make me dizzy and possibly cause me to fall again. I feel that I am healing much faster than is to to be expected considering the previous condition of my back and my age of 69.