Pain suppression by peripheral nerve stimulation. Part I. Observations with transcutaneous stimuli.

A systematic, strict appraisal was made of 100 patients, after preliminary clinical trials suggested that some patients with pain could be helped by peripheral nerve stimulation. Transcutaneous stimulation of different nerve trunks was done with a special electrical stimulation device with various selected electrical parameters. More than half of the patients experienced some relief; in many, this effect was obtained by stimulating nerves distant from the area of referred pain. Pain relief lasted for varying periods after stimulation. The maximum benefit was noticed after certain specific parameters were reached for each patient. A few patients had response decay, gain or worsening. Results differ to some degree from previous reports. The results seem encouraging for the treatment of certain forms of intractable pain.