Like an electric shock that runs through the entire leg – that is how Bernward Schaefer describes his phantom pain, from which he has suffered since his above-knee amputation in 2003.
To enable him to bear this unbearable pain in the now absent leg, he was put on strong pain-killers (opioids) and then on an implanted morphine pain pump. This was ''planted'' in his abdomen for three years and supplied him regularly with the opiate..
Morphine for pain
Morphine pumps are used when pain can no longer be adequately relieved with drugs in tablet form. He had to put up with strong side effects and the dependency on morphine.
Umbrellan aids instead of drugs
Then Bernward Schaefer's attention was drawn to the medi Liner RELAX: a silicone-stump sock made out of Umbrellan, a patented knit that shields the residual limb from electromagnetic radiation. Amputees such as Bernward Schaefer, who anyway show a hyperstimulated nerve pattern due to the amputation, are protected from these external influences on the residual limb by the special characteristics of the material.
He now lives without pain pumps, without phantom pain and without side effects. During the day, he wears the medi Liner RELAX, while at night the stump sock RELAX Night Care ensures a restful and pain-free sleep.
Huge potential savings for healthcare providers – significantly greater quality of life for the user
If the costs associated with the different types of treatment are taken into account, then the Liner relax comes out far cheaper for Bernward Schaefer than the pain pump. Three years of a morphine pump cost the healthcare provider in this case about 30,000 Euros. This time was marked by several stays in hospital, complications caused by the implanted device, regular outpatient checks – not to mention side effects due to the continuously administered drug.
The provision of the medi Liner RELAX and the stump sock RELAX Night Care, which was first overlapped with the morphine pump, cost only about one-third as much. So the savings potential of the medi Liner RELAX with a good two-thirds of the cost of a pain pump is – 66 percent less outlay!
Bernward Schaefer has hardly any phantom pain any more
In addition to the benefit of cost savings for the entire healthcare system, there is also a marked improvement in the quality of life and performance of the user. Bernward Schaefer no longer needs constant medications or a continuous monitoring of medical devices and he also feels more independent. In contrast to morphine pumps, there are no side effects of any kind with RELAX aids made from Umbrellan. To finally go through life with a clear head is a huge gain for Bernward Schaefer. Another plus: the taking of expensive and potentially kidney-damaging painkillers can be greatly reduced by wearing medi Liner RELAX and the RELAX Night Care stump sock – for which no side effects are known.
The range of uses of the medi RELAX aids made from Umbrellan, and how they work, can be found under www.medi.de