‘I smile more now’: Desert Pain helps local patient get back on the dance floor with spinal cord stimulation

CONTRIBUTED CONTENT — Desert Pain Specialists stands at the forefront of treating chronic pain in Southern Utah by offering patients compassionate care and cutting-edge treatment options.

Elaine Andrews square dances with friends in St. George, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Elaine Andrews, St. George News

High-frequency spinal cord stimulation with Nevro has changed the lives of many patients plagued by unrelenting pain and limited mobility, including one local woman who’s stepping back into her dancing shoes after a long battle. 

“Here at Desert Pain, we care about our patients,” said interventional pain management specialist Dr. Court Empey, the clinic’s founder. “They’re like family to us, and we’ll try everything we can to get them feeling better and get them back to their normal function. It’s the most rewarding part of being a physician.”

Spinal cord stimulation is a minimally invasive procedure used to treat patients with chronic pain that hasn’t responded to many other more conservative therapies. It works by blocking pain signals from reaching the brain with electrical pulses. 

Patients undergo a five- to seven-day trial to ensure that the treatment is right for them. Once the trial period is over, the physician works with the patient to determine if they experienced sufficient pain relief (typically 50% or better) to warrant long-term implantation. The permanent system is then placed entirely under the skin.   

One patient’s story

St. George resident Elaine Andrews and her husband, Harold, started square dancing together in 2007. They usually danced four times a week and even went to square dance festivals. But over the last few years, chronic pain slowly stole that ability from her. Eventually, her husband continued to dance while she was forced to sit on the sidelines. 

“Dancing was my life,” she said. “My main goal was to get back to square dancing.” 

Andrews started experiencing persistent pain in her lower back and legs after having a hip replacement in November 2018. She reached out to her surgeon with her concerns, but her pain was dismissed as a normal part of aging. 

Elaine Andrews and her husband, Harold, at home in St. George, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Elaine Andrews, St. George News

She came to Desert Pain and asked Empey for a second opinion. His initial recommendation was physical therapy, which offered no improvement. Andrews then requested imaging to help identify the problem, and she was diagnosed with a bulging disc plus spinal stenosis (narrowing of the spaces within the spine). 

Andrews tried almost every procedure offered by Desert Pain over the next 2 ½ years. Steroid injections worked at first, but the pain relief wore off quickly. The results of a radiofrequency ablation lasted less than a year. She also had a Vertiflex spacer implanted in her spine to alleviate pressure from the bulging disc, but her stenosis was too advanced to effectively treat. 

Next, Empey recommended spinal cord stimulation. Andrews said she was hesitant to undergo yet another procedure, but ultimately felt she had no choice as her mobility continued to worsen. She started the trial in November 2021 and experienced significant improvement in function.

Her Nevro stimulator was permanently implanted two days before Christmas. Finding the right setting took a few adjustments, and her movement was restricted over the next six weeks to allow her body to heal. She started easing into physical activity in early February.  

Today, Andrews is back to dancing twice a week. She still experiences arthritis pain, but spinal cord stimulation has virtually eliminated the other issues that were keeping her off the dance floor. 

“People have been amazed at how fast I’ve been able to come back to square dancing. Prior to this, I hadn’t been able to dance in three years,” she said. “I’d been using a walker to go out. I could make it to the mailbox on the corner, and that was pretty much it.”

That walker is now parked in the garage, and Andrews regularly takes walks of up to a mile at a time without assistance. She has also returned to the fitness center. She recognizes that regaining her strength and endurance is an ongoing process, but she can see light at the end of the tunnel. 

Elaine Andrews square dances with friends in St. George, Utah, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Elaine Andrews, St. George News

“It’s been quite an improvement,” she added. “My mood has definitely improved. I smile more now because I’m reaching my goal of being able to dance again.”  

Andrews said she’s been very pleased with her experience as a Desert Pain patient. Empey and his team are personable and understanding, and she seldom waits more than five minutes to see a provider when she goes to the office. She said the first week is rough, but she has encouraged several people she knows to try spinal cord stimulation. 

Chronic pain decreases patients’ abilities to participate in the activities they both need and want to do. Supported by a team of advanced practitioners, the physicians at Desert Pain are dedicated to improving their quality of life using all available resources. 

“You can’t help everybody, but you try,” Empey said. “When you see a patient put their trust and faith in you and you’re able to help them get back to something that brings them joy and happiness and helps them be with their family, it brings a lot of reward.” 

At Desert Pain, patients aren’t simply treated. They’re seen, heard, understood and supported throughout their pain management journey. Call 435-216-7000 or visit the Desert Pain website to learn more about spinal cord stimulation and schedule an appointment with the specialist nearest you today.

Written by ALEXA MORGAN for St. George News.

• S P O N S O R E D   C O N T E N T • 

Resources

  • Desert Pain Specialists | Telephone: 435-216-7000 | Email: [email protected] | Website.
  • Locations:
    • St. George: 617 E. Riverside Drive, Suite 301.
    • Hurricane: 48 S. 2500 West, Suite 110.
    • Cedar City: 1760 N. Main St.
    • Beaver: 68 N. Main St.
    • Panguitch: 200 N. 400 East.
    • Kanab: 348 N. 300 West.
    • Delta: 126 White Sage Ave.
    • Fillmore: 65 N. Main St.
    • Mesquite, Nevada: 340 Falcon Ridge Parkway, Suite 600.
    • Overton, Nevada: 475 N. Moapa Valley Blvd.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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