Neuromodulation: Spinal cord stimulation pain and interoceptive awareness outcomes in chronic pain patients

Chronic pain conditions are difficult to treat, pain is subjective and not fully understood, and patients respond differently to various treatments
.
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is effective as a treatment for chronic back and leg pain

Using the mind-body connection to relieve pain is not an unexplored concept
.
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to reduce pain and improve quality of life in adults with chronic pain, and examination of these depressed patients with comorbidities showed that higher interoceptive awareness was associated with less catastrophic pain

Patients included 14 males/16 females with a mean age of 58 years
.
At a mean follow-up of 14.

Due to a variety of factors affecting pain management strategies in the United States, especially the current opioid misuse, finding non-pharmacological ways to improve patient suffering is becoming increasingly important
.
Based on the results of this paper, patients with higher interoceptive awareness may have more success following thoracic SCS intervention in chronic pain patients

Park, YL, Hunter, J.