Is this permanent?
Somehow, I do not see this ending well. As attractive as eliminating pain may be, the fact is we need a sense of pain.
A knee that cannot communicate pain lacks the feedback needed to prevent further damage.
Somehow, I do not see this ending well. As attractive as eliminating pain may be, the fact is we need a sense of pain.
A knee that cannot communicate pain lacks the feedback needed to prevent further damage.
What I wonder about is choice. You've expressed yours, and it's solid. Others may well make other choices.
Will they be able to, or are we headed toward a new paradigm, where it's "just fixed, you can go" as opposed to management, options?
Then again, perhaps most people don't care.
I had skimmed this, found it thought provoking. Missed where there is nerve recovery. I do know, from some personal experiences, nerve regrowth, if it happens and it doesn't always happen, is sloooow.
Looks like there is recovery, meaning it's not permanent. I feel a whole lot better about that.
Where I struggle to understand your perspective is here:
> Will they be able to, or are we headed toward a new paradigm, where it's "just fixed, you can go" as opposed to management, options?
As a society right now we are way tipped on the scale toward not giving choice by denying access as opposed to forcing access, so the concern that we'd be forced into relief seems the opposite of my concern (that we will be denied relief).
Doctors are getting really stingy with many medications (because of DEA threats (and in some cases actions) to throw them in prison if their patient does something wrong with them, or even if they are just statistically writing more than other doctors). Try going to get some Xanax, or Adderall, or Percocet. Good luck! If you've had it before it's easier, but new patients you can basically forget about it without a hard diagnosis (which they will happily take tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and still not provide, because again doctors are terrified of mis-diagnosis and getting sued or treated as a criminal, so they will only do it if there is hard indisputable evidence, which is infrequently the case).
When there are always potential issues.
The US perspective on this stuff is terrible. Frankly, the state of health care, markets, all the BS?
Wish I were not living here. No joke. I've already had take serious financial hits --twice, for people I love.
I'm curious as to whether or not there could be applications for people with spinal cord injuries
The article addresses this:
“Now, the thing with pain is, it evolved for a reason. It’s an indispensable tool for you to feel if you’re doing something to your body that you shouldn’t be, like holding a scalding cup of coffee. Of course we want to alleviate pain, but might that be problematic if it’s too effective?
For people with knee pain, not really—the injection is targeting a specific area, so the rest of your body can still feel pain. And for end-of-life care, a central injection can bring long-awaited relief.“
(disturbing, because I could lose the damn thing and not know, or not know how bad it is)
> “The animals went from basically limping to running around.” One dog even went 18 months before its owners noticed the pain had returned.
So the nerves must repair themselves over time which is great.
Elsewhere, it said that this specifically activates temperature sensitive sensory neurons leaving others (touch, for example) unaffected.