Al-Kaisy – Spinal Cord Stimulation for Persistent Spinal Pain Syndrome

Dr. Adnan Al-Kaisy has a comprehensive discussion on neuromodulation as a treatment for back pain, a prevalent and complex issue in pain management. Dr. Al-Kaisy, associated with Guy’s and St. Thomas’s Hospital in London, looks into the challenges of identifying the tissue source of back pain and the limitations of current treatments, including surgery and pain management programs. The focus then shifts to spinal cord stimulation (SCS), especially the 10 kHz therapy, as a promising solution for back pain, particularly in patients who have not undergone previous spinal surgeries. Highlighting several studies, including the Midas onCore study and others that assess the effectiveness of SCS, he presents compelling evidence of SCS’s significant pain reduction, functional improvement, and reduction in opioid use. Despite the positive outcomes, his lecture also addresses the challenges faced by the neuromodulation field, such as skepticism from the medical community and the impact of negative studies on the perception of SCS’s effectiveness. Dr. Al-Kaisy concludes with an ongoing double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial called the MODULATE study, aiming to provide more conclusive evidence on the efficacy of SCS in treating back pain.