“After my stroke, my shoulder pain became so bad that the physical therapist couldn’t even touch my shoulder without me screaming in pain. I couldn’t move my arm, it hurt so much. That made for a very short rehab session with my therapist. I knew I had to do something, because not moving was not an option and I refused to live my life in constant pain.

“My doctor, an expert physician in treating chronic pain, presented me with a number of options and I chose the Bioness StimRouter because it was minimally invasive and addressed my pain at the source.

“Two weeks after the StimRouter procedure, the small surgical incisions were healed. I was given the External Pulse Generator that sticks to the skin over my implant, to deliver the necessary energy to the small lead that stimulates the nerve to reduce my shoulder pain. It was amazing. When the doctor turned it on, the pain went away and now all I feel is a slight tingling from my shoulder.

“Now, I can move my arm, lift it, and do exercises with the help of my therapist and the pain is totally gone. With the small patient controller, I call it my remote control, that I wear around my neck, I can turn the StimRouter up or down to control my pain. I use it every day.

“If I were able to talk to other people with post-stroke shoulder pain, I would say, “Go for it. At least try it. You’ve got nothing to lose.”