Applications and Future Trends of Spinal Cord Stimulation

Abstract

There are various causes of chronic pain, such as almost any nerve damage has the potential to develop into a chronic pain. This pain can be felt depending on where the nerve damage is. Nerve damage may result from physical trauma, other medical disorders, or drugs. Spinal Cord Stimulation (SCS) is a rising technology to cure different types of chronic pain. Though the mechanism of SCS is still unclear, it has been proved effective as a useful method and shows several superiorities against the traditional one. This article reviews the mechanism of SCS, then mainly focus on the application of SCS in the applications of failed back surgery symptom (FBSS), complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), peripheral neuropathy, and critical limb ischemia (CLI), respectively. Each application would also be discussed based on their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, we introduce our perspectives of future trends of SCS.