Positioning Spinal Cord Stimulation

Sunil Panchal, MD

President and Founder of the COPE (Coalition for Pain Education) Foundation
Associate Professor of Oncology and Anesthesiology
Director of Interventional Pain Medicine
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
The University of South Florida College of Medicine
Tampa, Florida
Spinal cord stimulation has an important if evolving role in treating patients with complex chronic pain syndromes as our understanding of pain improves in parallel with increasingly sophisticated stimulator technology. Patient selection methods are critically important, and new technology allows precise adjustments of the area or intensity of stimulation, rechargeable batteries, and simultaneous treatment of different pain types (eg, burning, aching, stinging).

References

North R, Shipley J, Prager J, et al. Practice parameters for the use of spinal cord stimulation in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain. Pain Med. 2007;8 Suppl 4:S200-75.
Kumar K, Taylor RS, Jacques L, et al. The effects of spinal cord stimulation in neuropathic pain are sustained: a 24-month follow-up of the prospective randomized controlled multicenter trial of the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation. Neurosurgery. 2008;63(4):762-70.

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