Burst Spinal Cord Stimulation for Neuropathic Pain

Recently a novel stimulation design was developed, called burst stimulation. In a non-placebo controlled pilot study burst stimulation seemed superior to tonic stimulation over a period extending more than 2 years, and even though an incidental finding, this design seemed capable of suppressing pain without mandatory induction of paresthesias. This permits for the first time to scientifically prove that spinal cord stimulation is better than placebo stimulation. A study was therefore initiated to find out whether spinal cord stimulation is indeed capable of suppressing neuropathic limb pain in a placebo controlled way.