A theory of pain transmission published in 1965 inspired researchers to develop a reversible, nondestructive pain therapy that relied on equipment adapted from cardiac pacemaker technology to deliver electrical stimulation to the spinal cord. The initial results of this therapy,…
Introduction General Considerations About Spinal Cord Stimulation Cost Studies A cost-effective therapy is not necessarily the most inexpensive available; rather, cost-effective choices provide clinical benefits that exceed those offered by other therapies and often reduce the consumption of healthcare resources…
Introduction Since the 1970s, when spinal cord stimulation (SCS) first came into widespread clinical use, its most common application has been management of persistent pain following low back surgery, commonly known as the failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS). It was…
Acknowledgments The authors are grateful for recollections contributed by personal communication with: Donlin M. Long, MD, PhD, retired Director and Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Thomas J. Mortimer, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Biomedical…
Introduction Neuromodulation, defined by the International Neuromodulation Society as “the alteration of nerve activity through targeted delivery of a stimulus, such as electrical stimulation or chemical agents, to specific neurological sites in the body” ( ), has been in use…
Introduction For more than 5000 years, electrical stimulation has been used to treat pain, among other medical conditions. The King Narmer papyrus from 3100 BC describes the use of the Nile catfish, which has a bioelectric generator, for pain control,…