"WHY WOULD ANYONE RISK A SPINAL STIM WHEN THEY COULD TRY CALMARE. IT'S MUCH LESS RISKY AND A FRACTION OF THE COST AND WORKS BETTER."???
Well, let's see, ONE reason that immediately stands out is that spinal stimulators are covered by third party reimbursers because there are blinded, randomized, and controlled studies that attest to their effectiveness -- UNLIKE calmare. So the "fraction of a cost" bit only holds up for the uninsured.
That, in turn, leads to the SECOND reason; the ONLY such study done on calmare -- the one by Dr. Campbell -- demonstrated that calmare not only had NO effect on pain but couldn't even be distinguished from a "nontheraputic" sham! That pretty much knocks down the "works better" claim.
And "much less risky"? Well, sure, tickling someone with a minimal electric current -- a current, as the calmare inventor points out, that is considerably less than that used in most other TENS devices -- is less "risky" than someone shoving a wire into your epidural space.
On the other hand, a SCS -- as the studies have demonstrated -- at least possesses the possibility that it MIGHT actually work beyond a placebo effect.
Finally, bypassing calmare means the patient won't ever have to face the ultimate humiliation of realizing that they spent five grand on a SCAM!
To be fair, for someone really STUPID who has $5,000 they don't mind risking flushing down a toilet -- or those who can get FREE treatment in exchange promoting the device -- you might have a point.
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