University Hospitals is one of the only medical facilities in the state to offer leading-edge Calmare pain therapy for people with chronic nerve or oncologic pain

By Laura Briedis

The number one reason people seek medical care is that they have pain somewhere,” says Henry Vucetic, MD, a pain medicine specialist at University Hospitals. “So, we are always innovating better ways to treat pain.”

The newest electroceutical therapy, which has fewer side effects than medications and is less invasive than implantable devices, has proven to be effective for patients who have chronic nerve pain or oncologic pain.

Available only in a couple of hospitals in Ohio and limited to major cancer centers across the U.S, Calmare pain therapy, commonly known as scrambler therapy, involves administering electrical stimulation to the patient’s skin via electrodes placed strategically around where the patient experiences chronic pain. By stimulating nerves along mapped areas of the skin that rely on specific nerve connections, the goal is to replace painful nerve signals with non-painful ones, thus “scrambling” how pain is perceived in the brain.

“The goal is to stimulate along the healthy part of nerves that may be damaged,” says Dr. Vucetic, a double board-certified anesthesiologist from the UH Pain Management Institute who is leading the new program at UH alongside Santosh Rao, MD, medical director of Integrative Oncology for UH Connor Whole Health. “In essence, we are retraining the brain to send healthy signals along the healthy parts of the nerves.”

During the first visit, patients undergo an initial evaluation and dermatome mapping of their painful areas. During subsequent treatments, patients sit in chairs and small patches are put on the skin to hook up the electrodes. Typically, therapy consists of a series of 10 treatments, each lasting between 30 to 60 minutes. Patients undergoing therapy can listen to music or Wi-Fi is available for those who want to work on a laptop during their session.

“This pain therapy has a long-term curative effect as patients can go into remission for 12 to 24 months,” Dr. Vucetic says. “They may need boosters every six or eight months, but the goal is to reboot the central nervous system for long-term results.”

University Hospitals received these machines last fall from a donor who started a research fund with the goal of treating cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy. In the year since, this pain therapy has also proven effective for many other types of nerve pain, from sciatica to diabetic neuropathy.

“Since we are one of a few hospitals offering this innovative treatment, we have patients traveling from different states to our hospital,” Dr. Vucetic says. “And for those who live here locally, it is convenient that we offer this pain therapy in our two outpatient facilities in Mentor and Willoughby, so people don’t have to travel to our downtown campus for treatment.”

“There are a lot of great specialties in medicine, but as a pain management specialist it is incredibly rewarding to be impactful in someone’s day-to-day quality of life,” he says. “And even more rewarding that I am helping others in the community where I grew up.”

Pain therapy is available at UH Lake West Brunner Sanden Deitrick Wellness Center, at 8655 Market Street in Mentor and University Hospitals SOM Health Center, at 5105 SOM Center Road, Suite 202, in Willoughby, 440-953-5760.