VA Augusta 1st to use innovative tech to reduce chronic pain

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center is the first VA in the country to use Axon Therapy to target peripheral nerve stimulation to reduce chronic pain in veterans.

Officials say Axon Therapy is painless and 10,000 times stronger than any wearable magnetic device.

“Some of our Veterans have only needed to be treated a couple times and have seen such durable results, they haven’t needed to come back in for further treatment, said Dr. Marshall Bedder, a Navy combat Veteran and VA Augusta’s Chief of Pain Management.

Bedder says Axon Therapy delivers strong magnetic, low-frequency pulsed stimulation to affect the nerves causing chronic pain.

“When you have chronic pain, pain messages are being sent to your brain every minute,” said Bedder. “Over time, it changes the synaptic makeup. When the Axon magnetic waveform comes in, evidence shows it reverses some of those negative synaptic connections that were formed from pain.”

Since May 2022, Bedder and his team have provided Axon Therapy, and they say it’s proven to reduce nerve pain over long periods.

One veteran traveled from Bethesda, Maryland, to Augusta to receive therapy for his chronic pain. He said his results provided him relief to perform a 110-kilometer bike ride.

“It is very exciting to provide veterans a safe alternative therapy with sustained relief of pain and no risk of harmful side effects like those seen with opioids,” said Vanessa Croley, VA Augusta’s Pain Management, Opioid Safety, and Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Coordinator. “This innovation brings new hope to veterans and the loved ones who care for them.”

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