Scott Carlson – Man of Action

Scott Carlson is a man of action. An intelligent, driven individual who always seems to be on the move and getting things done. The kind of guy who can climb to great heights in life. But climbing high can mean a long fall if something like debilitating chronic pain knocks you off your feet.

The man on the move

When he was young, Scott’s family was not the type that stayed in one place for too long. His father was an engineer who worked in avionics, and he took several different jobs throughout the country. Scott was born in Iowa, then moved to Rochester, NY, then to Chicago. Finally, his family settled in Bloomington, MN, where he swam and ran track for Lincoln High School.

After high school, Scott attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, the oldest technical school in the country where only two out of three students graduate. But, like his father, Scott was gifted in technical applications and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. To take his education further still, Scott also earned a master’s degree in business from the University of St. Thomas in St Paul, Minnesota.

Scott’s first job after tech school took him back to his home state of Iowa, where he worked on specialized parts for engineering marvels like the space shuttle, the F-15 fighter, and the original B-1 bomber.

He eventually moved back to Minnesota and entered the medical field. Using his broad skillset, Scott started two medical companies in the 80’s, the second of which he and his family ran for nearly 40 years.

For good measure, Scott also served as a city council member for the city of Minnetrista, before eventually being elected mayor.

Scott also enjoys several hobbies when he’s not busy running his business or for office. He enjoys walking, gardening, and spending time on the lake. Golf is a particularly favorite past time of Scott’s, and it has been a source of calm and release for him since his thirties.

Yes, Scott is an accomplished man who stays busy. But chronic pain can come after anyone, regardless of how impressive they may be.

The man in pain

Back in the mid-90’s, Scott had to get a hip replacement procedure. While it was mildly uncomfortable, it did not have any serious impact on his life. He could still play golf, and everything was business as usual for a while. 12 years later, Scott needed to have a revision done on his hip because the socket had become dislocated. Once again, despite some mild irritation, the impact was minimal, and nothing out of the ordinary happened.

But then one day, years later, Scott began to notice a new sensation. He started experiencing pain in his groin when he walked. Soon, that pain began to radiate out to his hip and thigh. Before long, the pain grew severe enough to cause issues with his day-to-day life, preventing him from walking, making yard work difficult, and affecting his golf game.

It turns out that Scott had developed a case of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), a chronic pain condition characterized by a persistent, often intense, burning pain that usually occurs in the extremities.

“I had experienced some discomfort for quite a while, but I could always handle it,” said Scott. “Eventually, though, the pain got to a point where I couldn’t ignore it anymore. There were days when I would be coming in from working in the yard and had to crawl up the steps back into my house because the pain got so bad. In early 2023, I went to Florida to visit some friends and had to walk with a cane. Then, when I couldn’t play golf anymore, the depressing truth of my situation really hit home. My life had become so sedentary, which is something I am not at all used to, and it started to mess with my body and my mind.”

The man on the rise

So now there was only one question in Scott’s mind – “what to do about all this”? Scott was looking for something effective and long-term. He had already undergone back surgery to help with some spasm issues. He also had several injections for his hip pain, but they did not have the affect he wanted. What he needed was something more permanent; something that would keep him out of the clinic and on the golf course.

Fortunately, Scott was in a unique situation. It turns out, he was already a patient at Twin Cities Pain Clinic, where he was receiving treatment for an unrelated case of polymyalgia rheumatica.

“I talked to my provider about the challenges I had been facing and asked if they had any recommendations for less invasive ways to treat my leg and hip pain,” Scott recalls. “Luckily for me, they had just the thing.”

Scott was prescribed a dorsal root ganglion (DRG) spinal cord stimulator. Like traditional spinal cord stimulators, a DRG device uses small doses of electricity to “stimulate” nerves in the spine, masking pain signals and reducing pain. However, unlike traditional spinal cord stimulators, which generally treat pain in the back and neck, the DRG device is specially designed to treat pain in the extremities.

“This DRG stimulator sounded like the perfect option for me,” Scott said. “It doesn’t require any pain medications and I would get the chance to trial it first, to make sure it worked for me. Best of all, it was a minimally invasive procedure, which meant the recovery timeline was measured in weeks, not months.”

Scott went ahead with the DRG trial and was shocked to experience around 90% pain relief! He quickly realized that this was exactly the game-changing treatment he needed and chose to proceed with the DRG implant.

A few days after the implant procedure, Scott returned to the clinic to have his device turned on and programmed. From that moment on, Scott was a new person.

The man with a plan

Since his implant, Scott has been back in action and experiencing the joys of life with less pain. He can walk for miles now, instead of just down the street like before. And of course, he is back out on the golf course. Though he admits he still needs a bit of work to get back to where he was, Scott now has the time and the means to find his form again. He also plans to start cutting back on work, opening the door to a whole host of other hobbies and activities that he can pursue without pain.

“This device has changed my life,” Scott exclaimed. “It has worked beyond my expectations, and I couldn’t be more grateful to the team at Twin Cities Pain Clinic for opening my eyes to this miraculous treatment.”