Spinal cord stimulation is a therapy that has been used for over 40 years to help relieve chronic pain and improve quality of life. It can be used for the management of chronic pain in the back, neck, legs, arms or abdomen.

Spinal cord stimulation is approved by the national institute for health and clinical excellence (NICE) for neuropathic pain (burning, tingling or numbness), where other treatments have not been successful.

How it works

Neurostimulation interferes with the transmission of pain signals travelling up the spinal cord to the brain:

A generator (similar to a pace-maker) is inserted into the body that sends pulses to a lead.
The lead delivers these pulses to nerves along the spinal cord.
The pulses block the pain signals before they reach the brain.
The painful feeling is replaced with a different sensation - these sensations may not be felt depending on the type of spinal cord stimulator that is used.