New procedure shuts off pain signal from spine to the brain

Thirty million people in the U.S. suffer from chronic low back pain. It’s a pain that continues for more than six months.

For many, the pain lasts years.

When you’ve tried medication, steroid injections, and chiropractors, and nothing relieves your pain, often you’re left suffering and out of options.

Now, there is a new way to burn back pain.

Andrea Beagle can push, pull, and twirl her grandkids Alice, Waylon, and Wesley now, but that wasn’t always the case.

“At my worst, I was combat crawling through my house without the use of my legs for two days,” Beagle said.

Beagle was suffering from vertebrogenic back pain. A new procedure called basivertebral nerve ablation, or BVN, shuts off the pain signal from the spine to the brain.

“This is, really, one of the first great breakthroughs we’ve had from a back pain standpoint,” said Dr. Kevin Barrette.

An instrument is inserted into the vertebrae through a small incision in the back.

“This ablation actually burns the little nerve that supplies sensation to that specific area,” Barrette said.

The procedure doesn’t structurally fix the problem, but it does help with the pain.

“This procedure changed everything for me. I’m a grandma, and it’s always my favorite, these kids. Being able to play with them and run around with them and pick them up,” Beagle said.

Patients typically have a minimal recovery process at BVN ablation and can return to their normal activities almost immediately.

Medicare covers the procedure, as well as most insurers.