Your brain is essentially an electrical organ, and your nervous system stimulates it with countless tiny electrons. This interaction creates a magnetic field capable of controlling the electrical currents in your brain. When this system fails, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can jump-start the process again and alter the malfunctioning electrical currents.
TMS therapy also triggers the release of “feel-good hormones,” namely serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which improve your mood and reduce pain. Originally used and FDA-approved to address treatment-resistant mood disorders, including anxiety and major depression, TMS also has effective applications for other mental and physical conditions.
Our team of TMS experts here at Vital TMS Therapy in Washington, DC, and Chevy Chase, Maryland, offer this cutting-edge technology to patients suffering from mood disorders, as well as addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
But we also treat chronic pain problems, which is what we’re focusing on in this May post, because May 12 is Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) and Fibromyalgia International Awareness Day. Here, we explain the benefits of TMS maintenance.
Understanding chronic pain
Everyone experiences pain now and then, but after it serves its purpose, it fades away. Chronic pain, on the other hand, hangs around for months, even years, after your injury has healed. And some types of chronic pain occur even when you’ve sustained no injury at all. Several conditions fall into this category, chief among them are myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia.
ME/CFS causes extreme fatigue that interferes with daily activities. If you have ME/CFS, you likely have trouble sleeping at night, which exacerbates your fatigue. You tend to lose focus and have trouble concentrating, so it’s difficult or impossible to perform at work or school. About 2.5 million Americans suffer from ME/CFS.
Fibromyalgia also causes severe fatigue, sleep problems, and concentration issues, and it’s characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain. About 4 million Americans suffer from fibromyalgia.
Although both of these are long-term conditions, most symptoms respond to treatments, such as medication, lifestyle changes, and therapy. When traditional treatments fail, TMS offers an effective, noninvasive, drug-free alternative for many patients.
TMS for chronic pain
To understand how TMS can help with chronic pain, we need to dissect the brain — not literally, just for the purpose of explanation.
Scientists generally agree that when a certain section of your brain — the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) — experiences heightened activity, your pain level increases. But it’s more complicated than that.
The right side of your DLPFC detects pain, but it’s the left side that registers the negative sensations associated with pain. Therefore, TMS treatments need to be precisely calibrated and targeted.
We use low-frequency TMS on the right DLPFC to reduce brain activity in ME/CFS and fibromyalgia patients, and studies show that this technique is highly effective — patients’ self-reported pain ratings dropped from 7.5 to 3.5.
Benefits of TMS maintenance treatments
Your initial treatment of TMS typically includes about five weekly 30-minute sessions. The treatment is completely painless (although you might feel a slight tapping sensation) and requires no anesthesia or special preparation. You sit comfortably in a chair while a TMS coil encased in a handheld device delivers the magnetic pulse through your scalp and skull, targeting the treatment area.
If you experience significant pain relief after your sessions are complete, we may schedule you for regular maintenance TMS treatments. Although one series of TMS treatment sessions often delivers lasting results, in some cases, additional treatments may be needed.
Recent studies show that those who respond well to an initial TMS treatment experience a significant benefit from annual sessions, which often involve a shorter course of treatment.
Clustered repetitive TMS is also shown to prevent the recurrence and relapse of depressive disorders, which offers great hope for those suffering from medication-resistant depression and those who want to reduce their use of medications.
Whether you’re dealing with chronic pain or mental health problems, TMS therapy and TMS maintenance may help you regain control of your life. To find out more, call 202-335-4114 to schedule an appointment.
