(WISH) — A growing crisis is gripping the nation: Millions of Americans are living in severe pain and turning to prescription painkillers for help.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 20% of adults experience chronic pain.. Of those with chronic pain, up to 30% misuse opioids. That means millions are living in a vicious cycle of pain and addiction.

In this Health Spotlight report, Dr. Giancarlo Barolat, a neurosurgeon at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver, discusses the introduction of a neurostimulator to relieve one person’s pain. He placed electrodes between the spinal cord and vertebrae. A battery pack was placed under the skin, near the patient’s buttocks. This device stops the majority of the pain signals.

News 8 has more in Wednesday night’s Health Spotlight.

This story was created from a script aired on WISH-TV. Health Spotlight is presented by Community Health Network.