How Durable Are Spinal Cord Stim Outcomes?

A new literature review asks the profound question, how durable are spine cord stim outcomes? Using data from 25 studies over two decades, a new study published in the March 18, 2025 edition of The Journal of Pain Research has found that patient selection and innovation in the spinal cord stimulation (SCS) arena are critical to the future of this treatment, now considered a “mainstay” for clinicians specializing in treating refractory pain. The study is titled; “Spinal Cord Stimulation Explantation and Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review and Technology Recommendations.” 

According to the study authors, the current industry model is “heavily hardware dependent, permitting the use of waveforms only compatible with the implanted devices, limiting patient treatment options.”