By Dr. Michael J. Cooney

I had the great pleasure of working with a 51-year-old gentleman in June who arrived here at our office using a wheelchair as a result of full-body CRPS. He contracted the condition after sustaining multiple injuries in an auto accident in 2007. Even after years of extensive pain management therapy, treatments and medication, his pain level remained at a consistent 10/10.

Symptoms of CRPS

Best - both legs before
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He was experiencing these ongoing symptoms:

  • Widespread pain
  • Alodynia (sensitivity to touch)
  • Swelling
  • Lesions covering his lower extremities
  • Severe sweats.

Patient shares a familiar background

He shared some familiar comments on his New Patient Intake documents:

“My goal is to have pain decreased so I can live a normal life and not be miserable 24/7.”

 “I can never relax—not even for a minute—because of this pain.”

 “I have tried many different meds, endured so many stays in hospitals, inpatient and outpatient rehab and nothing has worked. I am desperate and worried there is no hope.”

Undergoing Calmare’s MC-5A scrambler therapy

After 17 Calmare Therapy treatments, he left our office walking and with 0/10 pain. Keep in mind, most patients undergo the standard treatment regime of 10 daily treatments. Due to the severity and longevity of his condition, he completed an additional seven treatments to ultimately achieve this pain-free condition.

When his pain returned to a 4-5 /10 three months later (September), he returned (still walking without a wheelchair or cane) to undergo nine additional booster treatments and again left at a 0/10 pain. This gentleman is a perfect example of a patient with severe CRPS who required subsequent Calmare booster treatments after the initial treatment.

Calmare is an analgesic, not a miracle cure

Scrambler therapy is not a one-time cure-all miracle. Calmare is an analgesic, a treatment designed to offset (and in the best case scenario) eliminate pain. While many patients undergo the initial 10-treatment therapy protocol and eliminate their pain, others need to return periodically if/when pain returns.

The good news is that many patients can offset this lesser degree of pain with over-the-counter pain relievers while others strive to remediate the pain completely through booster.

Michael Harris - Legs after
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Finally, this patient generously allowed us to photograph the extensive lesions on his legs before and after treatment. We did not administer any topic creams or medications to the lesions. Simply, as the Calmare Therapy relieved the patient’s CRPS neuropathy, the lesions disappeared as well.