"Unable to sleep for 30 years" sounds impossible, does it not? But for many patients who have been through a serious accident, constant burning pain in the hands and feet means they have never once known what real sleep is. Suffering of this kind does not affect the body alone; it reaches the mind, family relationships, and quality of life as a whole.

Today we will introduce you to the true story of someone who had to fight that suffering for 3 decades after an accident, until treatment with modern rehabilitation medicine technology helped her get her life back. This is a story that tells you "nothing is ever too late for recovery."

When pain became a shadow following her for 30 years

A life that changed from that day

30 years ago, a woman was living an ordinary, happy life, until that accident changed everything. A cervical spinal cord injury not only kept her in hospital for many months, but left consequences that tormented her ever after.

After she was discharged, what she faced every day was continuous burning pain in her hands and feet. No day off, no rest — as though a fire were burning under her skin all the time. Worse still, the muscles in both feet twitched without stopping, so standing and walking were unsteady and she was always at risk of falling.

Nights that were never quiet

The most tormenting part was not being able to sleep properly. She said, "I have never slept soundly, not for one night in 30 years." The burning pain grew worse at night, so she had to take a sleeping tablet every night — yet even the medicine could not give her real rest. She woke often, slept lightly, and always woke feeling exhausted.

Lacking quality sleep for more than 3 decades affected every part of her life: failing memory, mood swings, a weakened immune system, and above all a sense of hopelessness that grew steadily deeper.

A condition that grew more complex

The pain and the sleeplessness did not come alone. Problems with balance meant she did not dare go out alone. Every step had to be taken with great care, because she had no confidence in her own legs. Sometimes she fell, sometimes her ankle turned. On top of that she developed knee pain from walking with an incorrect pattern, so movement became still more limited.

Many people might think that after 30 years these symptoms must be a part of life that cannot be changed. But her story will tell you "it is not too late."

Why is pain after spinal cord injury so hard to treat?

Understanding chronic neuropathic pain after SCI

The pain that arises after a spinal cord injury is completely different from ordinary pain. It is "chronic neuropathic pain post-SCI," pain arising from the nervous system itself.

When the spinal cord is injured, communication between the brain and the different parts of the body is interrupted. Sensory and movement signals cannot pass normally. Importantly, the nervous system tries to "adapt" to this disruption, but that adaptation creates a new problem.

The brain and spinal cord begin to "remember" this pattern of pain (pain memory), so that even when the original injury has healed, pain signals continue to be sent out, like a radio transmitter stuck on and broadcasting all the time.

A vicious circle with no end

This chronic pain creates several layers of vicious circle:

Pain → no sleep → stress → more pain → less sleep

When you are in pain all the time, you cannot sleep. Sleeplessness means the body does not rest, the nervous system becomes more stressed, and when the nervous system is stressed, sensitivity to pain increases, so you feel more pain, sleep becomes harder, and round the circle goes.

Muscle twitching → unsteady balance → falls → fear of walking → muscle weakness → more twitching

Uncontrolled muscle twitching makes balance worse. Frequent falls bring fear of walking; walking less makes the muscles weak and poorly coordinated, which makes balance worse still and the twitching greater.

Why does ordinary treatment not work?

Ordinary pain treatment — painkillers, muscle relaxants, or general physiotherapy — usually does not work well for this kind of pain.

  • Ordinary painkillers work on inflammatory pain, but pain from the nervous system needs a special class of medicine, which often has considerable side effects, especially with long use
  • General physiotherapy helps the muscles and joints, but cannot correct the "disordered communication within the nervous system" that is the root of the problem
  • A single treatment is not enough, because the problem has several layers and needs integrated treatment that looks after both the body and the brain

This is why the suffering lasted so long, until she met a new approach to treatment that covered every dimension of the problem.

The integrated treatment that changed a life

When she came to the rehabilitation medicine team at PYONG Rehabilitation Clinic, the first thing the doctors did was a detailed and comprehensive assessment. They did not look at the pain alone, but also considered the sleeplessness, the balance, the strength of the muscles, and her mental health.

From the assessment, the medical team diagnosed:

  • Chronic pain after spinal cord injury (chronic neuropathic pain post-SCI) — the nervous system sending abnormal pain signals for 30 years
  • Knee osteoarthritis — from walking with an incorrect pattern for a long time
  • Disordered balance and muscle control — from a nervous system that was not working fully

The doctors designed an integrated treatment plan (an advanced neuro-regenerative protocol) specifically for her, with several modern technologies and techniques working together to address every layer of the problem.

1. Peripheral Magnetic Stimulation (PMS)

How it works: the doctor uses a PMS device to send electromagnetic waves to stimulate the peripheral nerves in the hands and feet. What is special is retrograde stimulation, which means the electrical signal is sent back up along the nerve, through the spinal cord, and up to the brain.

The patient's experience: during treatment she feels a light twitching of the muscle in time with the signal from the device. It is not painful, not dangerous, and importantly, once it is finished she feels the burning ease immediately.

2. Regenerative medicine

Because she had knee osteoarthritis from walking with an incorrect pattern for a long time, the doctor brought in regenerative medicine to help:

Hyaluronic acid (HA) injection: HA is a natural lubricant present in the joint, but it decreases with age or with joint degeneration. Injecting HA into the knee helps the joint move more smoothly, reduces friction, and reduces pain.

Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection: PRP is a concentrated platelet fraction extracted from the patient's own blood, containing many growth factors and proteins that help repair tissue. When injected into a degenerated area, it stimulates cells to recover, reduces inflammation, and slows degeneration.

These two treatments improved her knee a great deal, so walking became more comfortable — and importantly, once the knee was not painful, her walking pattern became more correct, which improved her balance in the long run.

3. Neurofascial Release

Another problem found was that the fascia around the muscles near the knee had stiffened and was binding the nerve, so muscle control was poor and the twitching increased.

The doctor used the neurofascial release technique, injecting a specially concentrated saline solution under the guidance of high-frequency sound waves (Diagnostic Ultrasound) into the area where the fascia was binding the nerve. The saline separates the fascial layer from the nerve, so the nerve returns to working normally and directs the muscle better.

4. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

TMS uses magnetic waves to stimulate the part of the brain that controls the sleep-wake cycle, particularly the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which has an important role in regulating the biological rhythm and sleep.

This kind of stimulation helps the brain return to balanced working and improves the quality of sleep without relying on a sleeping tablet. The technique is internationally accepted, supported by a great deal of research, and safe.

5. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)

tDCS is a technique that stimulates the brain with a weak direct current, which is painless and safe. The doctor places electrodes on the scalp over the area of the brain that controls movement and balance (the motor cortex).

This weak current increases the excitability of the brain cells in that area, so the brain directs movement and balance better. Used together with physiotherapy, it makes the training several times more effective.

6. Manual therapy and therapeutic exercise

Specialist physiotherapists work together with the doctors to "restructure" and "re-centre" the body.

Manual therapy: hands-on techniques are used to adjust the joints, release tight muscle, and correct the alignment of the body, so that standing and walking are correct and the risk of falling is reduced.

Therapeutic exercise: an individually designed exercise programme builds the strength of weak muscles, trains balance, and trains a correct walking pattern. Carried out alongside brain stimulation with tDCS, this training gives a better result than training alone.

7. Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)

NMES uses an electrical current to stimulate nerve and muscle directly, so the muscle contracts even when the brain is directing it poorly. The technique is very useful for muscle that has not been used for a long time, or muscle the patient cannot control well by herself.

The doctor used NMES to train the specific muscle groups that matter for balance, so that those muscles became stronger and worked together better. The result was standing and walking that were steadier and looked better.

8. Seeing a psychiatrist

The psychiatrist worked with the team to adjust the medication gradually, while at the same time improving sleep behaviour (sleep hygiene) and building good sleep habits. As the brain improved with TMS and the pain decreased, she was able to reduce the sleeping tablet little by little until in the end she no longer needed it.

A result beyond hope

After continuous integrated treatment, her life changed in a remarkable way. This was not merely "a slight improvement," but a change that genuinely gave her back her quality of life.

  • Sleeping soundly, for the first time in 30 years — waking refreshed and full of energy, the body recovering, the brain working well, the mood bright. Good sleep makes everything else follow: the body recovers, the brain works well, the mood is bright, and there is the will to live.
  • The burning pain that tormented her for 30 years has gone — the suffering of 3 decades has almost entirely gone and no longer disrupts her life. Recovery from pain endured this long is not only recovery from a physical symptom; it is the release of the mind from a chain worn far too long.
  • Standing and walking steadily, with less muscle twitching — walking is steadier, without fear of falling, and the twitching remains only now and then. Her confidence in movement has returned, she can do more activities, she no longer feels a burden to her family, and above all she has recovered her "human dignity."
  • Human dignity restored — able to live happily, to do the activities she enjoys, and to have hope for the future. This is the power of integrated treatment that looks at every dimension of the problem and brings the most modern technology to bear together.

Why does integrated treatment work better?

Seeing the problem as a whole, not a single point

The main difference in treatment at PYONG Rehabilitation Clinic is looking at the problem comprehensively: not treating the pain alone, but seeing what the pain affects, and what makes the pain worse.

For her, the problem was not only pain, but:

  • A nervous system sending abnormal signals
  • Sleeplessness that made the nervous system worse still
  • Knee osteoarthritis that made her walking pattern incorrect
  • Poor balance that left the muscles working out of balance
  • Fascia binding the nerve, making muscle control difficult

Successful treatment has to address every point at once, not one point at a time.

Using modern technology with scientific evidence

Every technology used in the treatment has research supporting its effectiveness.

  • PMS and TMS have a great deal of research in treating chronic pain arising from the nervous system
  • tDCS has been shown to increase the effectiveness of movement rehabilitation
  • PRP and HA have clear evidence for slowing joint degeneration and repairing tissue
  • Neurofascial release is an accepted technique for releasing a nerve from entrapment

Using technology with evidence gives confidence that the treatment has a high chance of success, rather than being a gamble.

A multidisciplinary team working together

The treatment is not carried out by one doctor but by the work of a team:

  • Specialist physicians in rehabilitation medicine diagnose, design the treatment plan, and perform the procedures
  • Physiotherapists and occupational therapists design the exercise programme and carry out manual therapy
  • A psychiatrist helps look after sleep and mental health
  • Nurses follow the symptoms and look after the patient closely

Everyone works together, communicates, and adjusts the plan of treatment appropriately throughout. This is the multidisciplinary approach, accepted as giving the best results in patients with complex problems.

Adjusting the plan for each individual patient

No two people are alike in every respect, even with similar symptoms. Treatment that works for one person may not suit another.

At PYONG Rehabilitation Clinic every treatment plan is designed individually. The doctor assesses the result of treatment regularly and adjusts the technique, the intensity, or the frequency according to how each patient responds.

This flexibility and adaptation is a key to success.

Who is this kind of treatment suitable for?

The techniques used for her are not suitable only for people with a spinal cord injury, but for many groups of people with chronic pain and disorders of the nervous system.

  • People with chronic pain from the nervous system — pain after a herniated disc pressing on a nerve, peripheral neuropathy from diabetes, or pain after shingles, for which ordinary painkillers usually do not work
  • People who have had an accident or a disease of the brain and spinal cord — those with stroke, brain injury, or Parkinson's disease, who have problems with movement, balance, or accompanying pain
  • Athletes or people with repeated injury — repeated injury in the same place may arise from a nervous system controlling the muscle poorly, or from fascia binding a nerve
  • Older adults with balance problems and frequent falls — brain stimulation with tDCS and TMS helps the nervous system control movement better and reduces the risk of falling
  • People with sleep problems caused by pain — integrated treatment that looks after the pain and the sleep together gives a better result
  • Office workers with severe office syndrome — chronic pain in the neck, shoulders, and back, together with numbness or burning down the arm, treated before without a cure

You do not have to endure the suffering any longer

Her story proves that even after 30 years of suffering, with correct, comprehensive treatment and the right technology, you can still get a good life back.

Our brain and nervous system are plastic (neuroplasticity), which means they can learn and adapt at any time. However old you are, and however long you have had the problem, with the right stimulation and training the brain and the body can still recover.

At PYONG Rehabilitation Clinic we are committed to caring closely, understanding your problem deeply, and designing a treatment plan for you alone. We believe everyone deserves a good quality of life, without having to endure pain, and with a life lived meaningfully.

PYONG Rehabilitation Clinic

Management of pain and musculoskeletal disorders, by specialist physicians

Location:
999 Room BF-11, Floor L, Gaysorn Village
Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
(near BTS Chit Lom)
Free valet parking

Opening hours:

  • Monday-Friday: 16:30-20:00
  • Saturday-Sunday: 10:00-20:00

PYONG Rehabilitation Penthouse Clinic

Care for older adults and neurological rehabilitation, by a team of specialist doctors and allied health professionals

Location:
127 Room K, Floor 11, Gaysorn Tower
Ratchadamri Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330

Opening hours:

  • Monday-Friday: 10:00-20:00
  • Saturday-Sunday: 10:00-20:00