Whether pain is caused by a bulging disc in the spine, arthritis in the knee, nerve damage, or something else entirely, pain is ultimately experienced in the brain. Networks of neurons in the brain relay pain signals from the spinal cord into your conscious awareness. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment can alter the activity of these neural networks to reduce the perception of pain.
Most treatment strategies for pain use a “bottom-up” approach, trying to heal the damaged tissue in the first place, or block transmission of pain signals to the brain. TMS uses a “top-down” approach, helping your brain ignore pain signals that are too strong or have gone on too long.
TMS is FDA approved for the treatment of depression. Increasing evidence demonstrates that TMS is also safe and effective for the treatment of chronic pain conditions, especially chronic neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia.
The graph shows the decrease in pain ratings (on a scale of 1-10, where 10 indicates more severe pain) over time in patients receiving real TMS treatment (black circles) compared to patients receiving sham or placebo TMS treatment (white circles), with benefit maintained even when treatments were spaced out to just once per month (A Mhalla et al, 2011).
Most insurance plans cover TMS treatments only for the treatment of depression, and do not cover TMS for pain at this time. If you have both pain and depression, treatment may be covered by insurance. When insurance does not cover treatment, UCLA is pleased to offer very affordable out-of-pocket rates. Please see our flyers below or contact us to learn more.
