scholarly journals Current Innovations in Peripheral Nerve Stimulation

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raghavendra Nayak ◽  
Ratan K. Banik

Peripheral nerve stimulation has been used in the treatment of several chronic pain conditions including pain due to peripheral nerve dysfunctions, complex regional pain syndrome, and cranial neuralgias. It has been shown to be effective for chronic, intractable pain that is refractory to conventional therapies such as physical therapy, medications, transcutaneous electrical stimulations, and nerve blocks. Recently, a new generation of peripheral nerve stimulation devices has been developed; these allow external pulse generators to transmit impulses wirelessly to the implanted electrode, and their implantation is significantly less invasive. In this review, we discuss the history, pathophysiology, indications, implantation process, and outcomes of employing peripheral nerve stimulation to treat chronic pain conditions.

1976 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 692-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
James N. Campbell ◽  
Donlin M. Long

✓ Peripheral nerve stimulating devices were implanted for pain control in 33 patients with a variety of disabling chronic pain conditions, which had persisted despite usual medical and surgical therapy. The implants were placed on major nerves innervating the area of the patient's pain. Records were obtained of each patient's stated relief from pain produced by nerve stimulation, along with assessments of narcotic withdrawal, ability to return to work, sleep pattern, and relief from depression. Based on these five criteria 17 patients were judged to be treatment failures, while eight patients had excellent results, and seven had intermediate results. Twelve of the failures were in patients with either low back pain with sciatica, or pain from metastatic disease. The most dramatic successes occurred in patients with peripheral nerve trauma. The incidence of complications has been low, and two patients have used the stimulator for 5 years without adverse effects. Techniques of peripheral stimulator implantation, possible mechanisms of action, and conclusions regarding peripheral nerve stimulation in the treatment of chronic pain are discussed.


Pain Medicine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S6-S12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiffany Lin ◽  
Akshat Gargya ◽  
Harmandeep Singh ◽  
Eellan Sivanesan ◽  
Amitabh Gulati

Abstract Introduction With the advancement of technology, peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) has been increasingly used to treat various chronic pain conditions. Its origin is based on the gate control theory postulated by Wall and Melzack in 1965. However, the exact mechanism behind PNS’ analgesic effect is largely unknown. In this article, we performed a comprehensive literature review to overview the PNS mechanism of action. Design A comprehensive literature review on the mechanism of PNS in chronic pain. Methods Comprehensive review of the available literature on the mechanism of PNS in chronic pain. Data were derived from database searches of PubMed, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library and manual searches of bibliographies and known primary or review articles. Results Animal, human, and imaging studies have demonstrated the peripheral and central analgesic mechanisms of PNS by modulating the inflammatory pathways, the autonomic nervous system, the endogenous pain inhibition pathways, and involvement of the cortical and subcortical areas. Conclusions Peripheral nerve stimulation exhibits its neuromodulatory effect both peripherally and centrally. Further understanding of the mechanism of PNS can help guide stimulation approaches and parameters to optimize the use of PNS.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Herschkowitz ◽  
Jana Kubias

Abstract Background Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is a chronic disabling painful disorder with limited options to achieve therapeutic relief. CRPS type I which follows trauma, may not show obvious damage to the nervous structures and remains dubious in its pathophysiology and also its response to conservative treatment or interventional pain management is elusive. Spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion stimulation (SCS, DRGS) provide good relief, mainly for causalgia or CRPS I of lower extremities but not very encouraging for upper extremity CRPS I. we reported earlier, a case of CRPS I of right arm treated successfully by wireless peripheral nerve stimulation (WPNS) with short term follow up. Here we present 1-year follow-up of this patient. Objective To present the first case of WPNS for CRPS I with a year follow up. The patient had minimally invasive peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS), without implantable pulse generator (IPG) or its accessories. Case report This was a case of refractory CRPS I after blunt trauma to the right forearm of a young female. She underwent placement of two Stimwave electrodes (Leads: FR4A-RCV-A0 with tines, Generation 1 and FR4A-RCV-B0 with tines, Generation 1) in her forearm under intraoperative electrophysiological and ultrasound guidance along radial and median nerves. This WPNS required no IPG. At high frequency (HF) stimulation (HF 10 kHz/32 μs, 2.0 mA), patient had shown remarkable relief in pain, allodynia and temperature impairment. At 5 months she started driving without opioid consumption, while allodynia disappeared. At 1 year follow up she was relieved of pain [visual analogue scale (VAS) score of 4 from 7] and Kapanji Index (Score) improved to 7–8. Both hands look similar in color and temperature. She never made unscheduled visits to the clinic or visited emergency room for any complications related to the WPNS. Conclusions CRPS I involving upper extremity remain difficult to manage with conventional SCS or DRGS because of equipment related adverse events. Minimally invasive WPNS in this case had shown consistent relief without any complications or side effects related to the wireless technology or the technique at the end of 1 year. Implications This is the first case illustration of WPNS for CRPS I, successfully treated and followed up for 1 year.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Standiford Helm ◽  
Nikita Shirsat ◽  
Aaron Calodney ◽  
Alaa Abd-Elsayed ◽  
David Kloth ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 1;15 (1;1) ◽  
pp. 27-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Stidd

Facial pain is a complex disease with a number of possible etiologies. Trigeminal neuropathic pain (TNP) is defined as pain caused by a lesion or disease of the trigeminal branch of the peripheral nervous system resulting in chronic facial pain over the distribution of the injured nerve. First line treatment of TNP includes management with anticonvulsant medication (carbamazepine, phenytoin, gabapentin, etc.), baclofen, and analgesics. TNP, however, can be a condition difficult to adequately treat with medical management alone. Patients with TNP can suffer from significant morbidity as a result of inadequate treatment or the side effects of pharmacologic therapy. TNP refractory to medical management can be considered for treatment with a growing number of invasive procedures. Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is a minimally invasive option that has been shown to effectively treat medically intractable TNP. We present a case series of common causes of TNP successfully treated with PNS with up to a 2 year follow-up. Only one patient required implantation of new electrode leads secondary to electrode migration. The patients in this case series continue to have significant symptomatic relief, demonstrating PNS as an effective treatment option for intractable TNP. Though there are no randomized trials, peripheral neuromodulation has been shown to be an effective means of treating TNP refractory to medical management in a growing number of case series. PNS is a safe procedure that can be performed even on patients that are not optimal surgical candidates and should be considered for patients suffering from TNP that have failed medical management. Key words: Trigeminal neuropathic pain, peripheral nerve stimulation, neuromodulation, intractable pain, facial trauma, postherpetic neuralgia


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher A Gilmore ◽  
Brian M Ilfeld ◽  
Joshua M Rosenow ◽  
Sean Li ◽  
Mehul J Desai ◽  
...  

IntroductionPeripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) has historically been used to treat chronic pain, but generally requires implantation of a permanent system for sustained relief. A recent study found that a 60-day PNS treatment decreases post-amputation pain, and the current work investigates longer-term outcomes out to 12 months in the same cohort.MethodsAs previously reported, 28 traumatic lower extremity amputees with residual and/or phantom limb pain were randomized to receive 8 weeks of PNS (group 1) or 4 weeks of placebo followed by a crossover 4 weeks of PNS (group 2). Percutaneous leads were implanted under ultrasound guidance targeting the femoral and sciatic nerves. During follow-up, changes in average pain and pain interference were assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory–Short Form and comparing with baseline.ResultsSignificantly more participants in group 1 reported ≥50% reductions in average weekly pain at 12 months (67%, 6/9) compared with group 2 at the end of the placebo period (0%, 0/14, p=0.001). Similarly, 56% (5/9) of participants in group 1 reported ≥50% reductions in pain interference at 12 months, compared with 2/13 (15%, p=0.074) in group 2 at crossover. Reductions in depression were also statistically significantly greater at 12 months in group 1 compared with group 2 at crossover.ConclusionsThis work suggests that percutaneous PNS delivered over a 60-day period may provide significant carry-over effects including pain relief, potentially avoiding the need for a permanently implanted system while enabling improved function in patients with chronic pain.Trial registration numberNCT01996254.


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